Lake County Declared High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

CHICAGO — Lake County, the third-most populous county in Illinois, received a special distinction Wednesday from the White House Office of National Control Policy. As a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Lake County will receive more resources to coordinate federal, state and local government efforts to fight drug trafficking and abuse, according to a press release.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration has been a long-time partner with law enforcement agencies in Lake County, focusing on violent drug trafficking organizations operating in and around communities within the county," Robert Bell, special agent in charge of the DEA's Chicago division, said. "This HIDTA designation will provide much needed additional support in our collective effort to keep Lake County communities — families — safe from violent drug organizations and the poisons they selfishly sell for profit."

Created by Congress in 1988, the HIDTA program facilitates information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies that work together to address regional drug threats.

To qualify for the designation, areas much be a significant center of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation or distribution, and drug-related activities must be having a significant harmful impact and an increase of federal resources in necessary, according to the DEA.

Lake County joins 28 other HIDTAs, which include about 18 percent of all counties in the United States and 66 percent of the total U.S. population as of 2017, according to the DEA. The Justice Department allocated $250 million to the program in its 2016 budget.