Birkett Honored By International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association

The International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association (INEOA) last week honored DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett by presenting him with a special award of honor for his extraordinary performance during a narcotics investigation. This honor was bestowed on Birkett at the INEOA’s 45th Annual International Drug Conference, a six day training conference which was held in Florida. The INEOA recognized State’s Attorney Birkett for a particular investigation which spanned over twenty (20) months, targeting the Bradford Court Apartment Complex in Addison. That investigation resulted in a total of 58 arrests. In addition, numerous other law enforcement officers and officials were honored for their respective roles which resulted in these arrests.

The letter of nomination which was submitted by Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Marchese, the Supervisor of the Narcotic and Gang Prosecutions Unit (NAG), laid out a description of the investigation of the Bradford Court Apartments, an area which has a long history of violence involving both gang members and drug dealers. The area was literally an open-air drug market. Past targeting of the complex had resulted in numerous arrests and convictions, yet the drug-dealing continued. Consequently, a new investigation was commenced in March of 2002 to investigate and prosecute street level and mid level dealers of crack cocaine. The multi-jurisdictional plan which was developed involved officers of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office as well as agents of the Addison Police Department, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, and the combined assistance of the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and the US District Attorneys Office.

This award-winning long-term investigation spanned 20 months and included over 130 undercover buys without any use of informants. Thousands of hours of time and digital recordings of virtually every buy were made, with all dealers being identified as known street gang members and associates of numerous area gangs. On August 20, 2003, 58 arrests were made during a sweep involving all the above-listed agencies, including nearly every form of police power within DuPage County. Of the cases adjudicated to date, all have resulting in findings of guilty.

In addition to State’s Attorney Birkett’s award for leadership in this comprehensive drug investigation, Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Ruggiero, the former Supervisor of the Narcotics Unit, was recognized for his individual role in the 20 month investigation. Other persons recognized were from the Addison Police Department, DuPage County Sheriff’s Office (included Sheriff John Zaruba), ATF, US Attorneys Office and the Secretary of State Police.

State’s Attorney Birkett has continued to bring numerous drug-related issues to the forefront in Illinois, with one result being that crucial issues have been addressed by the Illinois Legislature. For example, in 2001, Birkett brought to light the fact that there were inadequate state statutes on Ecstasy and drug-induced homicide. Consequently, he proposed legislation which strengthened the penalties for selling Ecstasy and other "club drugs" and expanded the offenses of drug-induced homicide and drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm to include the unlawful delivery of any controlled substance. That new law became effective January 1, 2002 and not only created the new offense of drug-induced homicide, but also placed Ecstasy and other similar drugs (commonly referred to as "club drugs") into the same category as some of the most serious drugs such as cocaine, heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and LSD. As a result of Birkett’s new law, delivery of 15 or more Ecstasy pills in Illinois is now a Class X felony, whereas before, the charges were based upon the net weight of the pills, with a minimum of 200 grams required to reach Class X penalties.

State’s Attorney Birkett continues to work with legislators to clarify the language in state statutes. For example, he proposed that the definition of "drug paraphernalia" be written more precisely so as to better encompass all objects being used in furtherance of illegal drug usage. According to Birkett, issues regarding statutory language become evident every day in the courtroom as drug-related offenses are prosecuted. Therefore, his philosophy of working hand-in-hand with legislators enables him to address issues that arise in executing a law that may not have been anticipated during the legislative process. Consequently, for the past few years Birkett has had the largest legislative agenda than any other elected official in the state of Illinois, with 20 and 21 proposals sent to Springfield in 2004 and 2003 respectively.

An additional drug-related program that State’s Attorney Birkett is committed to is the DuPage County Drug Court. Since early 1999, Birkett has been committed to a drug court plan that would provide a treatment alternative to incarceration for non-violent, low-level defendants who had committed property crimes in order to support their drug habits. In July of 2002 a more finely-tuned Drug Court was put into operation as a two-year pilot program. A typical defendant who qualifies for Drug Court is now required to complete a three-phase, two-year treatment program. If successfully completed, that defendant is given a reduced sentence.

"I am honored that the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association has recognized me and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office for our role in the Bradford Court Apartment Complex 20-month, multi-jurisdictional narcotics investigation," commented State’s Attorney Birkett. "With state resources shrinking and prison budgets being cut, we need to initiate more collaborative investigations to weed out not only the street-level buyer but the dealers as well as the dealers’ dealers. We have no option but to continually develop new and innovative approaches to address the chronic problem of drugs, continuously responding to changes in society and the new substances that appear every day on our streets."

In 2002, Birkett was honored by the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association for his extraordinary efforts in enhancing drug enforcement statutes. In 2001 he was given an Appreciation Award by Breaking Free, a not-for-profit group that offers services for victims of both child abuse and substance abuse. As a result of his many efforts to strengthen law enforcement via new legislation as well as by creation of new programs, State’s Attorney Birkett was named Prosecutor of the Year by the Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association in 2001 and Illinois Public Official of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in 2002.