DARE'S SUPPORTERS SPEAK OUT AT CITY HALL

Children gave testimonials, petitions bearing hundreds of signatures were
delivered to the Davenport Committee of the Whole and citizens bombarded
aldermen with faxes, but Police Chief Mike Bladel still wouldn't budge.

"I still stand by my proposal that it is time to retire the DARE program
and put those police officers on the streets," he said near the end of
Monday's public hearing on the city's proposed $141.2 million fiscal year
2004 budget, a discussion that focused almost exclusively on the anti-drug
curriculum aimed at kids. Bladel has said it costs the city about $200,000
a year in operational and administrative fees to run DARE.

More than 30 children and adults turned out Monday to voice their support
for DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

DARE helped "straighten me up," 12-year-old Tyler Chance told aldermen.
Before entering the program, he hung around with people who used drugs and
"kids that did bad things," he said.

Joshua Conder, 12, said the program allowed him to form close bonds with
police officers and gave him the courage to confront drug abuse and report
it to law enforcement.

"I stand before you as living proof that the DARE program works," the
sixth-grader said. "Because of what I learned from DARE, I had the courage,
confidence and knowledge to report someone abusing drugs on my way to school."

Those testimonials and others convinced at least some aldermen that a
proposal to eliminate city funding for DARE might have been a mistake.

Alderman Roxanna Moritz, 1st Ward, suggested that the city fund the program
for at least one more year, giving supporters a chance to find other cash
sources to keep it afloat. Alderman Dan Vance, 3rd Ward, suggested retired
police officers could operate DARE at a much lower cost.

But others said the city's budget crunch and the need to put more police
officers on city streets to combat higher crime rates means it is time to
cut DARE from the city budget.

Alderman Jamie Howard, at-large, said if she is given a choice between DARE
and more police officers on the streets, she chooses the latter. Howard is
a member of DARE's board of directors, although she acknowledged that she
has yet to attend a DARE meeting. They conflict with regular city council
committee meetings, she said.

"I got calls from educators, and they told me that the problem with DARE is
that is doesn't follow children; they get it in one grade and then it isn't
offered in the next," Howard said. "They would rather see a program that
follows the kids."

Alderman Bob McGivern, 6th Ward, said the city has to live within its
means. Public safety, including the police department and DARE, is among
the most costly services the council wrestles with each year.

"If Davenport doesn't live within its financial means in the future, it's
going to have to cut public safety," McGivern said. "It's our biggest
budget issue. We've already gutted parks and public works. I've probably
just walked the plank politically, but someone has to bring up this issue."

Aldermen are scheduled to vote on the new budget, which includes the cuts
to DARE, on Wednesday. City Administrator Craig Malin was asked to provide
figures on what it would cost to continue funding the program.