A press release from Bill Prim, candidate for the Republican Party nomination for McHenry County Sheriff.   He is running against Jim Harrison and Andy Zinke.

ILLINOIS STATE CRIME COMMISSION NAMES BILL PRIM REPRESENTATIVE FOR MCHENRY COUNTY; JOINS EMERGENCYSTATEWIDE SUMMIT CONFERENCE

Bill Prim and Jerry Eisner

Republican candidate for Sheriff Bill Prim joined a group of five other statewide narcotics experts at an emergency summit meeting at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights recently, marking the beginning of his term as McHenry County Representative to the Illinois State Crime Commission’s Heroin Task Force.

Prim joined Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, DuPage State’s Atty. Robert Berlin and others as part of the effort to raise public awareness of heroin-induced overdose deaths among young people in Illinois.

The conference, held March 9, is part of an overall effort to have heroin overdose deaths declared a medical emergency requiring immediate attention.

Television advertisements are also in the works as part of ISCC’s campaign.

“Our Commission was looking for a man with experience and integrity,” said ISCC Police Athletic League Executive Director Jerry Elsner.

“We also wanted someone who put families first, and when we got to know Bill Prim, we realized he was the perfect fit for our organization.

“We are excited to have him as our exclusive representative from McHenry County, whose citizens are seeing the same tragic impact on drug-involved youth as other Illinoisans.”

Prim, Republican candidate for McHenry County Sheriff, comes well prepared for his new role.

A retired Commander and 27-year veteran of the Des Plaines Police Department, he has scored major victories in the fight against narcotics in our communities, arresting hundreds of persons ranging from street-level dealers to international drug trafficking organization kingpins.

“I have been seeing the casualties of heroin for decades,” Prim said. “But what is particularly devastating in this latest wave is how young they are. Heroin is not so much a problem of inner-city adults any more as it is of suburban and even rural young people. And unlike some other unhealthy and illegal controlled substances, a small amount can lead not to a jail term or flunking out of school, but directly to the morgue.”

Prim continued, “That’s why I’m encouraged by the Crime Commission’s approach to declare this epidemic a medical emergency and engage health professionals, along with treatment providers and law enforcement.”

Other participants at the conference included Dr. Joe Troiani, Will County Health Department; Kathleen Kane-Willis, Director, Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy; Tim Nelson, Bloom High School; and John Roberts, retired Chicago Police Department Captain and co-founder of HERO, a grassroots group that provides outreach to families who have lost loved ones to heroin addiction.

Prim said he is working on a similar conference to be held in McHenry County in the near future to raise awareness of the problem here.

He further detailed his background fighting narcotics, including:

• Participation in hundreds of heroin-related arrests, including a joint case with U.S. Customs, British Customs, and the DEA that resulted in multiple arrests, the dismantling of an international heroin-trafficking organization and the seizure of $45 million in heroin (street value).
• Principal investigator in asset forfeitures exceeding $25 million in aggregate value.
• Participation in Tri-County Gangs Task Force.
• Service as the National Coordinator for State and Local Law Enforcement for the Combined Agency Border Intelligence Network (CABINET), administered by U.S. Customs.
• Worked in close cooperation with all major state and federal drug interdiction agencies, including State Narcotics Task Force; HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area); DEA; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Secret Service, and other state and local police.

“I intend to make narcotics investigations a major focus in my Administration if elected,” Prim said. “Taking drugs off the streets and out of the high schools, along with asset forfeiture efforts that strip greedy drug dealers of their profits, will be absolutely key. No parent in McHenry County should ever have to hear that his or her child has been found dead of an overdose. Parents need to be vigilant, but they first have to be made aware, and that is what the Crime Commission has set out to accomplish.”