BEFORE-AND-AFTER PHOTOS RILE FORMER ADDICT

Pekin Woman Doesn't Want Name Smeared By Police Meth Fliers

PEKIN - Penny Wood's drug-weathered face helped cut a deal that kept her
out of prison, but the 40-year-old Pekin woman says she now faces stares
and ridicule instead.

Wood accepted a unique plea agreement in January that gave her probation in
exchange for using her photographs in a campaign to curb methamphetamine
use by showing the physical toll of the drug.

Now, she says the startling before-and-after photos are causing humiliation
for her and her family and wants prosecutors to stop distributing the fliers.

"I've paid for my mistakes. I don't want my grandchildren to keep paying
for my mistakes," said Wood, who faced up to 30 years in prison if she had
been convicted of unlawful criminal drug conspiracy.

Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said Wednesday he isn't
about to scrap the campaign, which he said already is helping discourage
meth use by appealing to teenagers' concern over their appearance.

Wood's rapid aging is what first gave Umholtz the idea for the campaign
when he saw her relatively youthful 1998 booking photo next to one taken in
2002.

"Seeing them side by side, it was apparent to me that the photos showed the
impact of meth use better than I could ever describe in words," said
Umholtz, who also is pushing for tougher criminal penalties to battle the
rise in meth cases in central Illinois.

Wood, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, agreed the photos make a
case against drugs. "If that picture doesn't shock a child, I don't know
what will," she said. But she thought the program would be low-key, perhaps
in local drug treatment and prevention programs.

Umholtz said the deal didn't specify how Wood's photos would be used. He
said fliers are available to any agency that promotes drug prevention, such
as police, schools and the local Boys & Girls Club.

He added that police photos are public record and could have been used
without Wood's consent. He said he had her sign the agreement in an effort
to boost her self-worth and aid her recovery over meth addiction.

"I thought it was important for her to agree so she would feel she is
providing a service to the community. I think in the long term, when she
has an opportunity to sit down and reflect on this, she'll feel better
about herself for having done this," he said.

Wood, who said an outpatient rehabilitation program has helped her kick a
longtime meth habit, also is upset that her name has been linked to the
photos, making her the target of whispers and jokes.

Umholtz said he has abided by the plea agreement and has never released
Wood's name in connection with the photos.

Newspapers, including the Journal Star, have published her name along with
the photos in articles, "so her anger may be more directed at the media,"
he said.

Wood could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Umholtz questioned Wood's concerns over the fliers' impact on her family,
saying her daughter is now serving a prison sentence for a meth conviction.

"It seems to me that if a person was concerned about their children and
grandchildren, they wouldn't be engaged in this kind of offense," Umholtz said.