DRUG WAR HELPED TRI-CITIES CRIME DIP, POLICE SAY

Living in the Tri-Cities always has been a pretty safe bet - and it got
even safer last year.

Following a statewide trend, Tri-Cities-area residents saw fewer crimes in
2001. And the ones they did see, for the most part, weren't violent.

Crime statistics for 2001 - released by the Illinois State Police this
weekend - showed that property crimes - such as theft, auto theft and
burglary - dropped during the past year. And property crime accounts for
virtually all of the crime reported in the Tri-Cities each year.

Elburn rated as the safest place to live with a crime rate of 9.8 crimes
per 1,000 residents, while St. Charles had the area's highest crime rate at
40.76 per 1,000.

In St. Charles, property crimes accounted for 1,067 of the 1,137 crimes
reported last year in the city - compared with 1,119 property crimes in
2000. Police saw dips in auto thefts, which decreased from 41 in 2000 to 19
last year, and thefts, which dropped from 904 in 2000 to 884 last year.

St. Charles Police Chief Don Saw credited the lower numbers to police
efforts in curbing drug use and the county's drug rehabilitation court. In
the past, Shaw estimated that most of the city's property crimes were being
committed by drug addicts in need of cash to buy drugs.

"We're seeing fewer repeat drug offenders because of the drug court and our
ability to get people into that system," Shaw said. "We're starting to have
a slow but positive effect."

Batavia, Geneva, Elburn and Wayne also saw dips in property crimes. Despite
continued construction of stores along Randall Road, both Geneva and
Batavia posted decreases in thefts during 2001.

"I don't know what to attribute that to," said Batavia police Cmdr. Gregory
Thrun. "I know the stores along Randall Road corridor are aggressive in the
prosecution (of shoplifters)."

While Elburn, Geneva, Batavia and Wayne saw a decrease in violent crime,
St. Charles saw such crimes increase from 49 in 2000 to 70 in 2001. Violent
crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery, attempted murder and
aggravated assault, also increased countywide.

St. Charles police did not investigate any murders, but the number of rapes
and aggravated assaults increased last year. Despite the increase, Shaw did
not feel it was a cause for alarm. He noted that some assaults - such as
fist fights - often are unavoidable confrontations between people who know
one another.

Throughout Kane County, violent crimes rose from 1,453 in 2000 to 1,582 in
2001. The increase includes one Tri-Cities area murder of a 7-week-old boy.
Wayne Anthony Davis, the boy's father, is accused of shaking the infant to
death. Davis remains in Kane County jail on $1 million bond.