It's no secret that drugs are a problem throughout the whole Illinois Valley, but Spring Valley mayor Jim Narczewski proposed a new tool toward eradicating that problem during Monday night's council meeting: He asked the city council to consider attacking the problem on a regional level.

The mayor proposed Spring Valley join together with La Salle, Peru and Oglesby to create "our own special task force that will work in conjunction with the state police task force." "Basically, we are one community," he said. "I think in light of recent events in all our communities that this would be another layer of law enforcement, which would be important," the mayor said.

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Heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, drugs once considered inner-city fare, are showing up in the Illinois Valley, alarming residents and local police.

Spring Valley, which gained some notoriety after making a public response to the problem public in the summer of 2003, still may have a dangerous reputation but former police chief Doug Bernabei said the city has made great strides since joining the drug task force.

Three years after residents clamored to join Illinois State Police Zone 3/La Salle Drug Task Force, both Bernabei and task force commander Juan De Leon say the city's drug problem is reasonably under control.

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