NAPERVILLE FIGHTS FOR TEENS HOOKED ON HEROIN

It was the news many in Naperville were sure they would never hear: Youths
in their suburb were becoming addicted to heroin.

It was March, less than a year after Naperville had topped a nationwide
survey that dubbed it America's most kid-friendly town, when police made it
known they were keeping tabs on as many as 40 abusers of the dangerous
narcotic in city high schools. Police urged parents and city leaders to
confront the fact Naperville youths were getting hooked on a snortable
variety of heroin--and they were buying it on Chicago's West Side from
pushers with a penchant for violence.

Nine months after sounding the alarm, police said they believe their
warnings have taken hold. Investigators continue to watch as a core group of
older teens battles addiction, but officials said so far they have not seen
new, younger packs of youths follow in the footsteps of senior peers.

The police list of known teen heroin addicts has grown by just six names
since the spring.

"The original group that really expanded in 1997 is getting older and even
moving out of high school," said Police Sgt. Lisa Burghardt. "I would say 18
to 19 is probably our average age now."

But the news in Naperville is not all good. The dozens of older teens police
say are still addicted continue to travel to drug hot spots such as Cicero
Avenue in Chicago to buy the narcotic.

Police Sgt. Ray McGury, of the department's special enforcement unit, said a
group of tactical officers from Naperville worked with Chicago police for
two weeks this fall in an attempt to help Chicago officers identify
Naperville buyers. The effort did turn up Naperville youngsters, he said,
and license plate checks of cars driven by youngsters found numerous
vehicles registered to DuPage County.

"The frustrating thing continues to be that we are fighting this battle in
another city in another county," McGury said. "It's not like we have an
informant who says, `This house on Main Street is where the heroin is coming
from.' That's when I could really do something about it."

Police continue to worry that eventually a suburban teen will be seriously
hurt or killed on Chicago's streets. McGury said Chicago police have
recorded robbery incidents involving DuPage County youths.

"It's kids who are out of their element," McGury said. "You can be
streetwise in Naperville, and nothing will prepare you for what you
encounter in Chicago."

Burghardt and McGury also said that as they predicted, Naperville has seen
the increase in property crimes associated with young addicts. Police said a
publicized string of residential burglaries during the summer eventually was
traced to teens on Naperville's list of heroin addicts, and some arrests
were made.

Also busted this year was a group of teens charged with numerous attempted
auto thefts. The youngsters were looking for a new means of transportation
to the West Side to get their fix, McGury said.

Police and those involved in drug education at the city's high schools said
progress in their fight has been made. Because news of the problem spread
quickly last spring, schools launched drug meetings and more parents began
attending police-backed sessions such as "Drugs of Choice Among Naperville
Teens."

Younger students now avoiding heroin also may have figured out the dangers
of the drug for themselves, officials said, as they watched older
"high-profile" teens struggle with addiction.

Robin Amberger, Naperville Central's student assistance program coordinator,
said city residents with teenagers went out of their way to get information
after the heroin reports surfaced. Many who had grown up when heroin avoided
by most were not aware its purity had advanced to the point where it could
be snorted instead of injected.

"For parents, I think it was, `Wow, how could this be happening?' " Amberger
said. "They were baffled."

Amberger's Naperville North counterpart, Lisa Galdikas, said she now has
"less than a handful" of former addicts in her programs. Fewer than five
others have entered treatment this school year for heroin problems, she
said.

Police and organizers of drug programs still have not been able to pin down
clear reasons that Naperville teens might turn toward heroin use. One of
their guesses has been that Naperville youngsters are just as easily bored
and likely to experiment as other teens, but perhaps they have more
disposable cash than others their age who live in communities that are not
as privileged.

Leaders at Naperville's Linden Oaks Hospital, the treatment center likely to
handle the majority of the city's cases once users seek help, have said
Naperville is part of a national trend that has seen an increase in heroin
use among youngsters. Recent studies have suggested significant jumps in the
1990s.

Linden Oaks this week reported seeing fewer Naperville 15- and 16-year-olds
in treatment for heroin addiction in recent months.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst