COUNTY DRUG UNIT LOSES OFFICERS, MAY SHUT DOWN

A special unit of police officers targeting small and mid-level drug
dealers in suburban Cook County won't be investigating any new cases and
may soon be closed for good.

The decision of the board overseeing the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of
Cook County came after the Illinois State Police decided to remove nine of
its 10 officers from the unit and deploy them elsewhere in Cook County at
the end of the year.

That leaves 15 officers in the unit, most assigned by municipal police
departments.

"We're trying to keep it alive," said Warren Millsaps, deputy director of
the group. "The state police are certainly stinging us."

"This is pretty much like the last two bullets in the body that's already
been shot four or five times," Millsaps said.

The MEG board will meet again in mid-January to see if an expected change
in the state police administration, after George Ryan becomes governor,
will make any difference.

Local police departments also are expected to say then if they are willing
to increase their manpower commitment to the unit.

At least until the January meeting, the MEG unit will continue its
investigations and wrap up cases.

MEG includes such Northwest suburban towns as Bartlett, Elk Grove Village,
Mount Prospect and Palatine.

The state police pullout is the latest step by a police agency to remove
people from the unit, which has been dwindling in manpower in recent years.
Local police departments, for instance, have cut down their commitments to
the unit.

Master Sgt. Lincoln Hampton said the state police decided to pull its
officers out because MEG wasn't running that efficiently given its lack of
manpower. Also, without enough people, officer safety was an issue, Hampton
said.

The state police had been questioned why it was seemingly making the
decision just before a new administration would be put in place.

"It's a loose thread," Hampton said. "Why leave this around now for the
next administration?"

"We're still concerned about drug activity in Cook County," Hampton said.

MEG suffers from competition with other police units targeting drug
dealers, said Lynwood Police Chief David Palmer, chairman of the MEG policy
board.

Some local police departments are more quick to loan officers to units that
target bigger operations because police departments see more money from
seized assets.

MEG is important because it goes after small and mid-level drug operations,
the kinds of cases other units aren't interested in, Palmer said.

"MEG is not outmoded," Palmer said. "We have chosen, for the community
good, to stay at the street and mid-level (dealers)."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski