But the law hasn t made much difference, she said. It has not deterred the drug trafficking around the school, Little said. The kids still see too much. On a typical weeknight in the West Side s Harrison Police District, which includes Hefferan, young men linger on street corners and in apartment vestibules. Every now and then, a car inches through the streets.
Police say many drivers are looking for a dealer.
Across the street from Hefferan s empty, concrete playground, a small group of young men stands under a dark porch, their down jackets buttoned tight against the rain and wind. They are working, says Police Officer Russell Briggs, as he cruises by in his unmarked police car. On one strip, right off the Eisenhower Expressway, Briggs says, dealers can do a high volume of business. In a matter of seconds, you can be off the expressway and back on, he said. In the Rockwell Gardens public housing development, at Western Avenue between Madison and Adams streets, the sight of Briggs car sets off a flurry of activity.