The years of leaving your doors and windows unlocked in rural Illinois are in the past, and now many people have security systems and are involved in neighborhood watch programs. The number one reason for this change is the scourge of methamphetamine drug addiction, and it's destroyed lives and changed rural communities forever. It's time to realize that we're not living in a place like Mayberry anymore.

Jasper County Sheriff Ed Francis holds a semi-automatic rifle, one of many items that have been confiscated during methamphetamine raid in Jasper County.

"We really became involved with methamphetamine (meth) about the time I became sheriff. I took office on December 1, 1998," says Jasper County Sheriff Ed Francis. "In February of 1999, less than two months later, we encountered one of our first meth labs, and it involved a shoot-out with a subject, who ambushed me and our investigator. The subject was under the influence of meth and shot at us more than 60 times with a semi-automatic weapon. We had to return fire, and shot him. He survived, but he's paralyzed."

When the smoke cleared, the weapons confiscated from the suspect were two semi-automatic rifles and a .44 magnum handgun. Sheriff Francis was lucky during his encounter that day, but this was just the first of many meth-related crimes to come in Jasper County.

Methamphetamine is also known by a variety of names such as speed, crystal, ice, crank, zip, and cristy. Meth is now considered blue-collar America's answer to cocaine. It may be considerably cheaper than cocaine to produce and purchase, but it's more addictive, and considerably more potent and dangerous. It can be smoked, injected, or ingested orally. Those who smoke the drug can become addicted in six weeks; while those who take the drug orally can get hooked on their first try.

Methamphetamine can be produced primarily with materials commonly found in your home such as cold tablets, alcohol, ether, paint thinner, Epsom salts, lithium from batteries, and Drano. Basically, as long as the "cooker" (the person who manufacturers the meth) can steal or buy anhydrous ammonia, or a similar ingredient, he's set for business. It's quick and cheap to make, and a meth lab can be put up virtually anywhere, including a moving vehicle.

The combination of these simple ingredients can be lethal to those who produce or take it. Meth can either be cooked with heat or made through a chemical reaction. Adding to the danger is the fact that many of the novices who combine the ingredients don't understand how these chemicals will react with one another. The fear of fire or explosion doesn't seem to deter these desperate junkies. They can involve innocent people around them through the resulting fire, chemical reaction, and lethal fumes. Others who inadvertently find the trash from a meth lab can also be seriously injured.

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Guns mean quick and easy money to drug dealers, drug users, and thieves. Eight guns that were once displayed in this smashed gun cabinet were stolen from the Childress residence during a weekday in broad daylight.

A pamphlet written in 2000 by Inspector Thomas McNamara of the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board states, "The potential for lethal outcomes with methamphetamine manufacturing, delivery, and use are extremely high. Not only are the users and manufacturers in danger, but the first responders, investigating officers, and the community-at-large, are as well." The number of meth-related burn injuries hospitals see continues to climb. And getting a straight answer about how the burns occurred probably won't happen. Many people who are in prison for meth-related offenses are covered with scars, evidence of meth reactions, or fires.

Criminals dealing with meth are tricky to catch. Francis says it takes a tedious investigation to put a meth case together. Those involved stay in close-knit groups. They tend to only trust a small circle of acquaintances who manufacture, sell, and market the drug, and they keep quiet. They aren't likely to be out in a bar selling meth like people who sell more traditional drugs like marijuana and cocaine. And following up leads is the most time-consuming thing facing rural law enforcement officers today. Much of the investigation must be done at night, and it's harder to monitor the activity.

Unfortunately, where there are drugs, there are guns, as Sheriff Francis witnessed first hand. He says, "We take more guns off people than we used to. Meth makes people very paranoid, and they think everybody's out to get them. So they get guns for their own protection, or to protect their drugs."

Methamphetamine labs can be set up virtually anywhere, such as in this waste can that was found in a dealer's garage.

Guns are often stolen by the paranoid meth addicts for "protection" and because guns can be sold to make quick money to purchase drugs or the supplies to make the drugs. Roy Childress, Transformer and Regulatory Technician for Shelby Electric Cooperative, can vouch for that. Childress was off work one fall day, and while he and his wife had left the house, burglars entered and ransacked their home, walking out with most of his guns. Childress says, "I think they were basically wanting the guns. I had eight of them - shotguns and rifles. They were just plain old common guns. They were nearly all in a glass case, and the thieves just turned it over, broke it up and helped themselves." Childress says they had other valuables around the house that the thieves didn't touch - jewelry, electronics, and loose change.

Protecting Your Homes & Family

Thieves want what can be toted or driven away and easily sold. They don't want to deal with excess noise, bright lighting, or obstacles of any kind. If you make it difficult for a criminal to burglarize your home, garage, or outbuilding, it will become considerably less attractive. They want an easy target, which is a house, outbuilding, or garage with no outside lights, open or unlocked windows, no security system or barking dog, or unlocked vehicles and vehicles with the keys in them. According to Francis, thieves don't want to encounter people at a residence. They'd just like to be able to get in, take what they want, and leave.

Bill Humphreys, Istallation Manager of Alert Security, a co-op-owned security company, says tools are also an excellent target for thieves. They're

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State Senator John Sullivan

valuable and can be transported easily, but security systems can be definite deterrents to their theft. Humphreys says, "I'd say that during the summer, once most fields get planted and get to a certain height, a criminal can go just about anywhere in a rural area and not be seen. Someone can come up to the back of a pole barn and start ripping aluminum siding. The residents would never hear it during the day, and the thieves could just empty the whole thing. They don't have to go through the door; they just go through the side of the building." A security system would alert either the owner or law enforcement that this was occurring, and the thief might be caught, or at least scared away by the alarm.

Kathy Gehrig, Office Manager, also of Alert Securty, says livestock theft is also common in rural America. Stealing livestock can be easier for thieves, as the evidence is gone or untraceable once the animals are butchered. An increasing number of hog confinement operations are installing security systems. The hogs in one confinement can easily be worth upwards of $40,000 to $50,000, and with margins on pork being so narrow, farmers can't afford to lose even one hog. Although it's difficult to prove, livestock thefts and many other rural thefts can be tied to the meth trade. Gehrig says, "The thief might have a friend who works at a processing plant. He'll dispose of the livestock any way he can to make some quick money."

"It's a horrible drug. The addicts don't think about their children, and they don't think about their own health. Everything is about getting high and staying high."

Anhydrous ammonia, used in fertilizing fields, is also a primary meth producer's target. It's a vital ingredient in meth, and it is the only meth-making ingredient that isn't available at retail stores. Some thieves will just take the entire tank, while others will try to siphon it out. Humphries says, "We offer security equipment that's meant to be outdoors and can even be wireless if you want. Basically, what you need to do is get power out there. And that's not too hard under normal circumstances, especially working with an electric co-op."

State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) has been a leader in the fight against meth in the state. He's been involved in many of the meth-related bills that have come before the Illinois Senate, including a bill that increases the penalties for manufacturing meth if children are present or endangered during production of the drug, one that places the burden of meth lab cleanup costs on the offender, and another that limits the number of packages of adult-strength cold tablets containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine a person can purchase during a retail transaction. Regarding the meth legislation, he says, "We've tried to give law enforcement all the tools they need to help put those individuals behind bars, or make them at least accountable for what they did."

Sullivan's rural district has not been the same since meth made its way into Illinois from Missouri a few short years ago. His mission has been to stop the manufacture of meth, and his new quest is to find a way to rehabilitate meth addicts and end their constant cycle in and out of prison.

Sullivan says, "You talk to people who deal with the individuals who are addicted, and they say it's different than any drug they've seen. It absolutely consumes an individual, and the addiction is unbelievably strong. So far all of our attempts have been to try to address the crime. I'd like to come up with some legislation, and the dollars to go along with it, to try to break the addiction." Sullivan is working with Recovery Resources in Quincy, whose staff has been working on a successful meth rehabilitation program.

Meth stimulates the body's nervous system to the point that it causes a high degree of nervousness. A meth high can last anywhere from eight to 24 hours, and during that time, a person can experience excessive paranoia resulting from lack of sleep. Behavior experienced during the high can be classified as anywhere from excessive fear to the point of desperate panic, or it can give the subject superhuman strength, either of which can be a catalyst for domestic violence. Sullivan adds, "It's a horrible drug. The addicts don't think about their children, and they don't think about their own health. Everything is about getting high and staying high." One such example is the story of a man high on meth who

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beheaded his son, believing the boy was possessed by the devil.

Sullivan says that law enforcement continues to step up its efforts to rid rural America of meth production and use. Unfortunately, criminals are also becoming smarter, and they're finding new ways and places to produce the meth.

The public can help combat this by making sure they're educated about meth because, like it or not, they are directly or indirectly affected by it. Cold tablets are now kept behind the counters at many retail stores. Employees of these stores can contact law enforcement if they encounter the same person returning several times per day to purchase the legal limit of cold tablets. Law enforcement has had success in these tip-offs, and at times, they've been led directly to the location of an active meth lab.

Because of the potential for violence, you should never try to approach someone you suspect is a meth addict or cook. And because of the volatility of substances used in meth production, you should never pick up or try to smell anything that may have been used in meth cooking. You should also never attempt to transport it to law enforcement. Having any meth-related materials in your car is illegal, and could mean that although you were trying to be the Good Samaritan, you could be arrested for possession of the materials. Leave it to the authorities. They have the training to handle this issue.

It's unfortunate that the disruptive and dangerous methamphetamine trade has infiltrated rural America, which was for so long a solace from the hustling and bustling city life. Gehrig says, "We are living in times when it's a necessary evil to have a security system. People may not like technology, and a lot of people may not like change, but times have changed."

Many people in rural America have stumbled upon methamphetamine (meth) labs as they walk in the woods, in fields or near rivers, or in a variety of other places, but they may not know what they've found. Here are some distinguishing characteristics of meth waste that were distributed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office that may help:

• Powerful odors, especially those that smell like ammonia, ether, solvents, or vinegar, and those that seem sweet or bitter;

• Packaging from over-the-counter cold pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed® or Claritin®;

• Lithium batteries that have been torn apart;

• Fuel containers, compressed gas cylinders, LP gas containers, or gas cans;

• Propane tanks, thermos bottles, coolers, or other cold-storage containers (used to transport anhydrous ammonia);

• Empty containers of antifreeze, white gas, ether, starting fluids, Freon, lye, drain opener, paint thinner, acetone, or alcohol, including those that have been punctured in the sides or bottom;

• Respiratory masks or filters, dust masks, rubber gloves, clamps, funnels, hosing, or duct tape;

• Packaging from Epsom salts or rock salt;

• Used coffee filters containing unusual stains or powdery residue;

• Pyrex, Corning, or other glass containers or bakeware, especially if they are covered with powdery residue;

• Soda bottles or other bottles with holes in them and tubing coming out of them.

Again, if you stumble upon a meth lab, your only action should be to call your local law enforcement agency. They have the proper equipment and skill to handle a potentially volatile situation.

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