GENEVA, Ill. (CBS) — The top law enforcement officer in Kane County says he is disappointed more parents aren’t showing up for eye-opening presentations on the use of heroin by teenagers in the exurban county west of Chicago.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez teens are using heroin right under their parents noses, and the parents haven’t a clue. He says many teerns drive or take Metra trains to Chicago’s West Side to buy the drug which is cheap and abundant.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports

“The drug knows no socio-economic borders,” Sheriff Perez said. “It’s a matter of sometimes kids having too much time on their hands, not enough parental involvement in their lives.”

Sheriff Perez says parents need to be there for their children more than ever in the teen years, that, “It’s a life or death issue.” He says he’s seen too many young kids die of heroin overdoses.

Parents will get their next chance to learn more about keeping their children away from heroin…and watching for signs of the drugs use on Monday, April 16th at 7 p.m., at Christ Community Church, at 37-W-100 Bolcum Rd. in St. Charles.

Perez says heroin abuse in Kane County surged in the late 1990s and hasn’t subsided. The biggest area of use in Kane County, he says, is in St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva.

Undersheriff Dave Wagner says the drug awareness program will give parents clues what to look for in their youngsters’ behavior and appearance for possible heroin abuse.

Those clues include, having constricted pupils, and a lack of motivation. Another sign something may be wrong, Wagner says is that money, jewelry or other items of value might be missing from the home because teenagers have taken it to obtain money from which to buy drugs.