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New Riot Fest Site May Have A Problem: Used Heroin Needles

(CBS) – The new home of Riot Fest is already home to junkies, CBS 2 has learned.

A viewer said the park is littered with used hypodermic needles. And sure enough, that's just what CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez found.

Those discarded needles are just feet from where children play. It took a news crew less than a minute to find the dangerous debris.

The "rigs," as they are called -- used to deliver heroin -- lie in the grass. Neighbors say it's common.

"I see them taking their shoes off, shooting up between their toes, 20 feet away from a family that's having a little picnic," says Joseph Hennigan, who walks his dog frequently in the park.

Across the park, there were booze bottles and little baggies used for heroin laying all over. Even on the playground, CBS 2 found more evidence of drug use and reported the potentially dangerous drug paraphernalia to 3-1-1.

While it's not his ward, Ald. George Cardenas, who lobbied to bring Riot Fest to Douglass Park, told us he met with the Chicago Park District and police officials on Thursday.

"If somebody sees (stuff) like this, they should help clean it up," Cardenas (12th Ward) told Tellez.

When she noted that used needles are a biohazard, the alderman said the city would look into it.

The city announced earlier this week Riot Fest would be moved from Humboldt Park after residents there complained about the event, including the damage it does to the property. Concert promoters have said they have made necessary repairs and donated money to local causes, in return for use of the park.

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