The Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region is composed of Cook, Grundy, Kendall, and Will Counties. Highlights of strategic drug threat developments in the Chicago HIDTA region for this reporting period include: 1) an increase in drug-related gang violence, particularly homicide in Chicago, IL in 2008; 2) a concentration of street gang drug distribution operations in urban areas of Chicago, with an increase seen in suburban areas also; 3) widespread cocaine trafficking and abuse in the Chicago HIDTA region; however, a reported decrease in wholesale cocaine availability was seen in the second half of 2008; 4) an increase in the availability of and demand for high-potency marijuana, with Mexican, Asian, and Caucasian drug trafficking groups transporting high-potency marijuana to the region; 5) an increase in local indoor cultivation of high-potency cannabis; and 6) an increase in a the availability and abuse of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) particularly in African-American and Hispanic communities. In looking towards the future, Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) will most likely maintain dominance over most wholesale cocaine, heroin, and marijuana distribution in the Chicago HIDTA region, DTOs and independent dealers will likely expand indoor cannabis cultivation operations in the HIDTA region as well as increase transportation of high-potency marijuana to the region, and the availability and abuse of MDMA and BZP will most likely increase in the near term. This report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Chicago HIDTA. Figures and sources