LAWMAKERS WANT TO MAKE HEROIN PENALTY MUCH STIFFER

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois lawmakers voted Tuesday to tighten penalties for
heroin possession, attempting to close loopholes prosecutors and police say
have led to the narcotic's rise in popularity in the Chicago area.

The Senate voted 54-1 in favor of making felony possession of 1 to 15 grams
of heroin punishable by up to 15 years in prison. That's up from seven
years and would bring the penalties in line with those for cocaine possession.

"We are trying to take away the tactical advantage of selling heroin," said
state Sen. David Sullivan, a Park Ridge Republican and the plan's sponsor.
"This is a logical step of bringing penalties for heroin in line with cocaine."

The House already approved the measure, and it now goes to Gov. George Ryan
for consideration.

Sullivan said Chicago and the suburbs recently have seen a dramatic
increase in heroin use. As a result, dealers are using the loophole in the
state's drug possession laws.

Scott Seder, a Cook County state's attorney spokesman, said dealers now
often carry 12 packets of heroin weighing 0.1 grams each and sell the
packets for $10 a piece. The dealers sell the 1.2-gram total before they
restock and therefore minimize the risk of potential prison time if caught,
he said.

State Sen. Robert Molaro, a Chicago Democrat, was the only vote against the
plan, citing concerns with prison crowding.

The proposal also requires prison for a person found guilty of distributing
or manufacturing 5 or more grams of heroin.

Sullivan said the new penalty is aimed at discouraging use.

The Daily Herald recently detailed the suburbs' growing heroin and club
drug problem in a four-part series called "The Hidden Scourge." The series
detailed the abuse that took at least 13 young lives last year and it
explored answers to a problem few wanted to acknowledge publicly.