Sheriff's Candidate to Send Out his HIT-men
Lt. Steve Egan Proposes Will County
Heroin Interdiction Team-The HIT squad.
Joliet-"The drug traffickers and
dealers have been preying on Will County residents and their children for far
too long, “declared Lt. Steve Egan, " it's time we hit them, hit them hard
and hit them where it hurts!"
Egan
unveiled an aggressive three-pronged program that will attack the flow of
heroin and other drugs, punish those who are victimizing our communities while
assisting and supporting the families that have been devastated by the actions
of these predators. Egan's proposed Will
County Heroin Interdiction Team (HIT) will be organized and managed by the
Sheriff's Office and will include county and local police officers as part of what
he calls his "HIT squad."
"The
officers who join my unit will be my HIT-men, "Egan explained, "and
we will aggressively and proactively attack the flow and distribution of heroin
and other drugs throughout Will County."
The program
proposes a comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional investigation team that will
seek out traffickers and dealers. Based
on the investigations the HIT Squad will arrest those bringing drugs into Will
County as well as those selling those drugs in our communities. Egan explained that the unit can be "self-funded"
through asset seizures that result from this program.
"Interstates
I-55 and I-80 are the commercial crossroads of America," said Egan,
"but unfortunately they are also the crossroads of America for the heroin and
drug trade. We will focus heavily in
this corridor to stem the flow of these illicit drugs."
The third
part of the program is intervention and support according to Egan. He explained that as Sheriff, through his
office, he will organize a referral network of existing public and private
social service agencies to intervene to help those victimized by this epidemic.
"The
young people who are targeted by the drug dealers will need help putting their
lives back together and on track,” explained Egan, "as will their
families. The heroin and drug epidemic
can destroy entire families and we need to help them rebuild."
Egan also
mentioned that an aggressive education campaign is necessary and he will work
with schools and community organizations to reach out to Will County's children
through community outreach programs established by the Sheriff's Office. Egan said his program can go hand-in-hand
with Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow’s already successful Heroin
Education Leads to Preventative Solutions (HELPS) program and his Will County
Drug Court.
