DALEY COMPARES DRUG DEALERS TO TERRORISTS

Since April 15, Deaths Tied To Heroin Reported, Police Said

CHICAGO | Mayor Richard M. Daley told a new group of police academy
graduates on Thursday that the worst problem they would face in their
careers was the city's "drug epidemic."

Drug dealers "have destroyed more lives in this country than I
believe all the world wars combined," Daley said, comparing the
problem to international terrorism. Daley spoke a class of 43 new
officers, giving them a stiff introduction to the violence and
drug-ridden streets of Chicago.

Though Daley touted Chicago Police Supt. Phillip J. Cline for the
city's declining crime rate, he spent more time talking about drugs
in Chicago, naming it the biggest threat to the city -- even in the
age of terrorism.

"Since 9-11 we talk about terrorism -- terrorism from outside the
country and inside the country," he said. "But it's a sad comment
that we have terrorism 24 hours, seven days a week in America. It's
called drug dealers."

Daley's remarks came amidst a spate of heroin and fake heroin
overdoses that rocked the city.

Since April 15, when the police started an official tally, there have
been 20 deaths tied to overdoses on heroin or drugs thought to be
heroin, according to police department statistics.