Drug court to launch in 2010
By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI - jduchnowski@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – It’s been 10 years since McHenry County commissioned a study on starting a specialized court designed to help drug addicts get clean and stay out of prison.
Now, with a new court administrator and a state’s attorney who recently campaigned on starting a drug court, county leaders again are compiling information on the types of offenders and treatment that could go into the program.
But they still could be months away from starting a drug court from scratch or revamping an intensive probation program that targets drug addicts, Court Administrator Dan Wallis said.
“I would hope come the first of the year, we’re in a good position,” Wallis said.
The work comes on the heels of legislation awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature that would mandate drug courts in each judicial circuit in January, although leaders could ask for a two-year grace period if they lack funds or resources.
Dozens of drug courts are operating throughout the state along with hundreds nationwide as part of a movement to tailor prosecution and treatment to specific problems, such a mental illness and drug or alcohol abuse. McHenry County’s mental health court held its first “graduation” ceremony this spring, and Wallis plans to hire someone in the next two months to coordinate the mental health court, as well as the potential drug court.
The goal of both courts is to rehabilitate defendants with pending charges who are likely to reoffend and end up back in prison, State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi said.
“Just as the mental health court turns people into a successful part of the community, so would this,” Bianchi said.
“It would just reduce the impact of drugs in the entire community,” Bianchi said.
Often, drug courts also help participants find help studying for their GED, collecting back child support, fixing issues with their driver’s license, or getting job training.
“You literally take an interest in every aspect of this person’s life,” Wallis said.
In Kankakee County, which was the second Illinois county to establish a drug court, participants enter a 90-day inpatient treatment program or a four-day-a-week outpatient program, said Joseph Ewers, coordinator of Kanakakee County’s program.
New participants generally report once or twice a week for a drug test and go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings three times a week. Then, they have regular court dates that also track their progress.
If they slip up, they face sanctions from watching a judge work, to jail, to writing a paper in the library.
“I’ve even made them write lines if they are late or don’t show up for an appointment with me,” Ewers said. “ ’The telephone is not a new invention’ or something like that.”
But after they spend 12 to 18 months finishing the program, prosecutors dismiss the charges against them, and their record is expunged.
In McHenry County, leaders had hoped to have a new circuit judge to help with the courtroom demands another specialized court would bring. Legislation for another circuit judge is pending but not yet funded, Wallis said. But the county is set to get two more associate judge positions in 2010 because of its increased population.
Leaders also want to target those offenders with the highest social service needs who are at the highest risk of committing more crimes. Wallis said he would support including domestic violence suspects with drug addictions, but seriously violent offenders would be excluded.
A task force on a new drug court started in March is next scheduled to meet July 29. It is led by Judge Sharon Prather and includes prosecutors, probation officers, public defenders, and representatives from Family Service and Community Mental Health Center.
