DRUG CZAR, CAREGIVERS, POLICE TARGET GLUT OF HEROIN

Although Chicago remains the epicenter of a national heroin epidemic,
federal drug czar John Walters on Wednesday credited the Chicago Police
Department's stepped-up enforcement and cooperation with suburban agencies
for slowing the drug's widespread use.

In the last five years, Chicago police have increased the number of arrests
of drug abusers, including those from the suburbs, and shared information
on those arrests, said police Supt. Philip Cline.

"We share that info with suburban chiefs because the drug addict that is
coming to buy dope is the burglar or thief in your suburb," he said at the
Chicagoland Heroin Symposium in Lisle.

Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, toured the Women's
Treatment Center in the West Loop and gave the keynote address at the
symposium. The event brought together Drug Enforcement Agency agents,
specialists in the field of drug prevention and rehabilitation, as well as
Chicago and suburban police, with the goal of fostering greater cooperation.

"The problem with drugs in America is too many Americans use drugs,"
Walters said at a news conference. "Every community has people saving lives
every day. All these efforts depend on how can I make my neighborhood
better. How can I give someone a second chance? It's not just slogans."

Experts at the symposium speculated on why Chicago has become a hotbed for
heroin, citing everything from Chicago's geographic location to its diverse
population.

"It's just a unique situation that we don't see any other city in the
country facing," said Michele Leonhart, DEA deputy administrator.

Whatever the reason, Cline and Richard Sanders, DEA special agent in
charge, agree Chicago has a heroin problem, especially on the West Side. In
the last year, Sanders said they have added more DEA agents to help shut
down Chicago's bustling heroin trade.

In January, for example, police broke up one market in East Garfield Park,
which had easy access from the suburbs because it's near the Eisenhower
Expressway. Officers netted 56 arrests, eight of which were dealers.

"We don't have the success that we would all like to see here, but we are
moving in the right direction," Cline said.

Another tactic being employed by the department has officers going
undercover as sellers and busting buyers. Since August, Cline said there
have been 4,000 arrests, a third from the suburbs.

To help stop the problem and to foster cooperation, Chicago police inform
local departments of the arrests, Cline said.

Palatine police, like other departments, maintain records on those arrests,
and, when a crime is committed, they quickly reference those files to see
who has committed similar offenses, said Cmdr. Mike Seebacher.

"Just because somebody has been arrested in Chicago doesn't make him guilty
in Palatine, but it does help us in future investigations," he said.

Help from Chicago police recently was requested by Winfield police
investigating what happened to Sebastian Jankowski, 26, of Bensenville, who
was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose in the back seat of his
idling car in May.

When Winfield police learned that Jankowski might have bought the drug in
Chicago, Police Chief Douglas Riner contacted his city counterpart.

"There was nothing that we could pin down, but Chicago police helped where
they could," he said. "A lot of things that affect Chicago affect the
suburbs. ... If there is a connection that leads us to Chicago, they're
always helpful.