COMEDIAN BACK ON RADIO TOO SOON AFTER DRUG BUST

Many of you may not know George Willborn, the resident funny man with the
WVAZ-FM (103) afternoon crew. So you may not know that Willborn, a
home-grown Chicago talent, was arrested on drug charges nearly a month ago.
I was shocked when a reader e-mailed me ranting about Willborn's arrest for
allegedly buying crack cocaine near the Chicago Housing Authority's
Stateway Gardens during a drug sting.

I thought it had to be a joke. Not Willborn.

Not the family man and spiritual brother who used to end his gigs at the
"All Jokes Aside" comedy club by giving thanks to God. Not the young
brother with a promising future who appeared to be headed for the success
enjoyed by Bernie Mac, the Chicago comic who now has his own TV sitcom.

I didn't want to believe Willborn was accused of crack.

He grew up in the Auburn-Gresham area, the same neighborhood where my
younger brothers and sisters lived. When Willborn made it as a stand- up
comic, he was the talk of the household. In a neighborhood where a lot of
young people took wrong turns and ended up in prison, strung out on drugs
or worse, Willborn was a success story.

My silence after his arrest, however, angered some readers:

"Crack kills thousands of people (black, white and brown) every year. U.S.
Legislators have passed laws making possession a felonious offense, yet,
when one of our local entertainment giants get caught with his hand in the
cookie jar, no one says anything," wrote one reader.

"This is a crime you vehemently denounce time after time again. So why have
you chosen to ignore this scourge in the black community?" the reader asked.

Frankly, this is the kind of story one hopes will go away. Obviously,
Willborn was humiliated. After all, being arrested near a housing project
for buying crack makes him part of a problem that is devastating his own
community. He had to be embarrassed.

So there is no need to beat the brother down.

Yet, to sweep the matter under the rug is to play a dangerous game. We
can't tell our children to stay away from drugs, then push mute when a
popular black celebrity gets busted.

That kind of behavior gives credence to the criticism that some minority
communities are in bad shape because there are no community values. It says
crack cocaine isn't really all that bad.

More important, to ignore Willborn's situation is to treat him as if what
he contributes to the city doesn't matter. It does. He may be a comedian,
but he is heard in millions of households in the Chicago area.

After nearly a month off the air, Willborn returned to co-host the
afternoon show this week. Marv Dyson, president and general manager of
V-103, says he believes it was the right time.

"He stayed in rehab for three or four weeks, and he is receiving after-care
two days a week," Dyson told me. "In a lot of instances, drug addiction is
a disease. [Willborn] deserves a second opportunity for all he has
contributed to this station and to the community."

Dyson was also clear about what a relapse could mean for Willborn.

"If he falls back and we have to go through this again, it could end with
his termination," Dyson said.

That pretty much sums up why I think Willborn needs more time.

I've intervened with enough drug abusers to know that a month is not enough
time to sort out the problems that lead one to crack. I've seen people
leave in-house rehabilitation after six weeks, spend six months in a
halfway house, and still relapse.

And I've seen promising young men like Willborn get off with a slap on the
wrist, only to return to the drug of their choice until they are locked up
in prison on a drug offense.

Putting Willborn back on the air after a little more than three weeks of
substance-abuse counseling could set him up for a harder fall. I wish
Willborn the best. Really, I do. But I also wish there had been an outcry
for Willborn to get some real time off to deal with his life.

The only reason to put Willborn back on the air in less than a month is to
keep the station's ratings up. Dyson knows how much his listeners like to
laugh.

Willborn will be expected to carry on as if nothing painful has happened,
and his fans are likely to treat his drug arrest as part of his comedic
repertoire. They will argue that Willborn is not a minister or a
politician. He is a comedian, and at least he didn't set himself on fire
like Richard Pryor.

The jokes will go on. But what about the man?

Willborn's arrest was a cry for help.

If he is ignored, I'm afraid he may end up self-destructing. That would be
a terrible, terrible waste for his own family and for the V-103 crew. It
would also be a horrible blow for young listeners who look up to him as an
example of what they can achieve.

Willborn may be back on the air. But he is still a long way from being back
where he belongs.