Pubdate: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 Source: Daily Herald (IL) Copyright: 2000 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Author: Stacy St. Clair LAWMAKERS GO AFTER CLUB DRUGS In the wake of a suburban teen's fatal overdose last month and 11 arrests in an undercover sting, state and federal legislators are proposing stiffer penalties for dealing so-called club drugs. Illinois House Minority Leader Lee Daniels of Elmhurst is proposing a bill to make the sale of 15 or more grams of Ecstasy a Class X felony, meaning convicted sellers would face six to 30 years in jail. Under existing laws, a dealer could be charged with selling more than 900 doses of the drug and still receive probation. If passed, the legislation would put club drugs such as Ecstasy on par with cocaine and LSD. The proposed bill also would give the Illinois Department of Health the power to put new drugs on the Class X felony list without special legislation. The change would eliminate the lag time between creation of designer drugs and their inclusion in sentencing guidelines. "This is the only way we're going to keep pace with the street drugs," Daniels said at a Wednesday press conference. U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican, introduced similar federal legislation last week. Her bill would roughly double the federal sentencing guidelines for club drug-related crimes and earmark money for an Ecstasy awareness campaign. The proposed laws come on the heels of a month of club-drug related incidents in the Chicago suburbs. On May 14, Sara L. Aeschlimann, an 18-year-old senior at Naperville Central High School, died after swallowing what she believed were seven Ecstasy pills. The pills turned out to be a much more powerful drug called PMA. A week later, Palatine and Cook County Sheriff's police arrested 11 people on charges of selling Ecstasy to undercover officers at a nightclub. The majority of accused dealers, who ranged in age from 17 to 20, live in the suburbs. "You don't think of these drugs being this close to home or that our children ... are using it," said Biggert, a member of the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug Free America. "They don't think of how dangerous it is." While illicit drug use has remained steady in recent years, a University of Michigan study suggests club-drug use is on the rise among teens nationwide. In 1998, 3.6 percent of high school seniors reported using Ecstasy within the past year. That number rose to 5.6 percent in 1999. The suburbs are no exception to the national trend. Three years ago, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said his office wasn't involved in any Ecstasy-related cases. It now is pursuing more than 30. "It's a substantial portion of our work day," he said. Birkett pitched legislation last year that would require stiffer penalties for selling drugs and allow prosecutors more flexibility in drug-induced homicide cases. The proposal did not gain momentum, however, until Birkett approached Daniels earlier this year to discuss revamping Ecstasy-related laws. The Naperville Police Department also is responding to the growing popularity of club drugs by sponsoring an Ecstasy-PMA seminar for area authorities. More than 100 officers are expected to attend the session today at the city's municipal center. MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk