County After School Coalition steers kids to better paths

Mundelein's progress against teen alcohol abuse 'can be duplicated'

October 5, 2007

By JUDY MASTERSON JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM

MUNDELEIN -- Lake County suffered a rash of teenage drunk driving accidents last spring before a convergence of forces, aided and energized by the Lake County After School Coalition, helped reduce the death toll.

Police chiefs around the county banned together to boost enforcement, yanking the liquor licences of three establishments that sold alcohol to minors. The coalition sponsored town hall meetings that resulted in closer communication and agreement between residents and police on how to combat the problem. Bruce Johnson, coalition member and head of Nicasa, the Northern Illinois Council Against Substance Abuse, helped steer a $300,000 state grant to combat underage drinking in Mundelein, and area legislators passed a law increasing penalties for parents who allow their kids to drink.

» Click to enlarge image

Michael Schmidt ? mschmidt@scn1.com Harry Swayne, Chicago Bears chaplain, talks to Mary Penich (center) and Roycealee Wood, Lake County regional superintendent of schools, before the Lake County After School Coalition's annual meeting Thursday at Crown Plaza in Mundelein.

"The underage drinking prevention task force and grant will position the county for a blueprint for how to prevent underage drinking for all our communities," Johnson said. "We're making good progress in Mundelein. Those action steps can be duplicated in other communities."

The coalition, which is determined to make life safer and happier for kids in Lake County, on Thursday held its third annual meeting in Mundelein to publicize its progress. In Waukegan, the coalition has helped connect students with meaningful after-school opportunities. In the Millburn School District, the coalition helped spur middle-school students to hold a fund-raising walk for the Autism Society. Elsewhere, students are planning their own character-based after-school program.

"When you invite people to participate in the coalition, especially through the Web site and e-news, we expose them to new opportunities and to partner in ways that leverage very scarce resources," said state Rep. Kathleen Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, who co-chairs the coalition with Mundelein Police Chief Raymond Rose. "Because we're a countywide coalition, that gives us higher priority for state funding."

Students at the Ninth Grade Center in Waukegan said their membership in the Junior Police Academy, sponsored by Nicasa and the Waukegan Police Department, has made their lives better.

Jazmin Sanchez and Yesenia Ramirez, both 14, said they enjoyed learning about forensics, investigating and solving a murder through a Museum of Science and Industry exhibit and touring the county coroner's office.

"I've always wanted to work for the FBI," Ramirez said. "This makes me want to be in it more."

"It keeps us off the streets, and we actually look forward to going," Sanchez said. "We've gotten close as a group."

The coalition supports strong after-school programs, which it insists prevent crime, drug use and other risky behavior, such as gang involvement, by as much as 75 percent.

A coalition-sponsored youth leadership summit last spring offered leadership opportunities to middle-schoolers from around the county. Those students are now putting that knowledge to use at their schools, Ryg said.

For more information on the Web, visit www.lakecountyafterschoolcoalition.org .