DAVLIN PLANS TO FIGHT DRUG CRIMES

Mayoral candidate Tim Davlin said, if elected, he'd direct the Springfield
Police Department to be more aggressive with drug crimes.

Davlin said he would reorganize the police force to restore its "proactive
crime unit," which deals with narcotics, to full strength and would have the "mobile city hall" become more active in drug raids.

"My experience working in the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office showed me
that drugs overlap every other crime," said Davlin, who worked as a county
jail correctional officer for nearly two years in the 1980s. "As mayor, I
want more raids to shut down the drug houses that pop up and ruin our
neighborhoods."

Davlin says he thinks the narcotics unit, as it's currently staffed, is
undermanned. It is set up to have four officers overseen by a
sergeant. But it is down to two active officers due to a military call-up
and family leave. Davlin said he would rework staffing to ensure there are
four active officers, and if funding permits, he'd like to see that number
increase.

"In the last decade we've added nearly 60 officers," he said. I'm certain
we can maintain good programs lie school officers and neighborhood police
officers."

Mike Houston, a former mayor who was ousted as a candidate in last week's
primary election, initially brought up the issue of an understaffed
narcotics unit at a debate last month.

Police officials say the unit still is operating. Plus, city police have
other officers assigned to state and federal drug task forces, which deal
with similar issues locally.

Davlin said he also would like to see the mobile city hall vehicle used
more in crime fighting, with the 38-foot van serving as a safe haven for
police to immediately question suspects.

"In my opinion, we ought to be rotating those tires every quarter. That
ought to used extensively, and it's not being used right now hardly at
all," Davlin said, noting that he generally only sees the vehicle stationed
at White Oaks Mall to monitor traffic at Christmas time and at the Illinois
State Fair in August.

Mike Midiri, a police division chief who oversees, and often drives, the
mobile city hall, said the vehicle -- purchased in 2000 for $287,000 in
mostly federal funds -- is used fairly heavily.

In 2002, for instance, it was used at six drug or gang interdiction
details, five roadside safety checks, a hostage negotiation incident and an
arson investigation.

In some cases, the unit was parked at a site for 24 to 48 hours.

In addition to being stationed at the mall and the fair, Midiri cited more
than a dozen other community events it was assigned to last year. Midiri
said any community group or city department can request that the unit
appear at an event.

Tony Libri, Davlin's opponent, noted that he already has released a police
reorganization plan, and it goes beyond dealing with the drug
unit. Libri's plan reworks the department's administrative structure to
have three divisions, down from eight, although it does not detail how many
officers should be assigned to a drug unit.

Davlin said he hasn't yet devised a more detailed reorganization plan like
Libri's because he feels he needs to first get into office to get a better
look at the police department.

"I don't see how anyone -- myself or my opponent -- can go in there and
flow chart those people without actually being the mayor and knowing what
each person individually does," he said.

Libri said he developed his organizational flow charts by consulting police
officials and looking at department setups in cities such as Chicago,
Philadelphia and Indianapolis.

"My point is these are some of the best and brightest police minds in the
country that we've modeled this plan after," Libri said. "That's how we're
able to identify positions and reduce overhead."

Davlin and Libri face off in the April 1 general election.

The winner replaces Mayor Karen Hasara, who isn't seeking re-election, in May.