By Mark Glennon -
WILMETTE – Heroin and opioid abuse is the hidden scourge of the North Shore. With Chicago the center of the North American heroin trade, the drug is cheap, abundant, and easy for teenagers and adults to acquire.
The strain on families and communities has been felt across the Chicago area, including the North Shore, where affluence, strong school systems, and close families are not immune.
Approximately two years ago, the Illinois State Crime Commission investigated and declared heroin to be a medical epidemic. This explosive narcotic proved itself to be just that as an epidemic. The Commission is now declaring sexual exploitation of heroin addicted youth as a national disaster.
The Illinois State Crime Commission will present the second summit in their series of Organized Suburban and Rural Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Summit on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at the Wilmette Community Recreation Center located at 3000 Glenview Road in Wilmette, Illinois. The summit is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am and is open to the public.
The event is being hosted by ISCC board member Joan Lasonde, a longtime Wilmette community activist, a mom to three, and a DCFS-licensed foster mother.
The previous summit heard from experts in law enforcement, academia, religion, legal, medical experts, and elected officials that participated to discuss this national disaster that is rapidly encroaching in rural and suburban communities and was a huge success.
Please contact Jerry Elsner, Executive Director of the Illinois State Crime Commission at 630 778-9191 for any additional information.
