ILLINOIS' FIRST 'METH UNIT' WILL OPEN IN EAST ST. LOUIS PRISON

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. - Gov. Rod Blagojevich will announce this week a
plan to establish the state's first "meth unit" in an East St. Louis
corrections facility, a testament to methamphetamine's status as
Southern Illinois' biggest drug problem.

Blagojevich will use his State of the State speech on Wednesday to
announce his plan to establish the new 200-bed meth unit at the
Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis, the
administration said.

The 667-bed minimum-security facility was opened in 1995 as a
drug-treatment prison, but the specific focus on methamphetamine is
new. The administration plans to bring in additional counselors who
specialize in meth addiction.

"People who have meth problems have very special issues because of
the characteristics of the drug," said Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby
Ottenhoff. "There will be people brought in to focus more on
counseling ... and getting people ready for parole."

Drug users in general have a higher rate of relapse than other kinds
of inmates, and methamphetamine users have even more specialized
needs, officials say. The drug, derived from stimulants found in
common cold medicines, can cause paranoia, hallucinations and violent
behavior and hampers cognitive functions.

The new unit at the East St. Louis facility will be the first of two
planned in Illinois. The administration plans to open a second meth
unit next year at the Sheridan Correctional Center in northern Illinois.

The East St. Louis pilot program will cost about $6.6 million, with
most of that funding provided by a federal grant. Ultimately, the
programs at both facilities will cost the state about $18 million a year.

The East St. Louis program will use 200 of the current beds and space
at the facility, said Deanne Benos, assistant director for the
Illinois Department of Corrections. The major difference will be that
inmates in the meth program will get counseling with lower
inmate-to-counselor ratios, with special emphasis on continuing
tracking and treatment after their release.

Benos said the program would start in East St. Louis because
officials wanted to stress a regionally based approach to the
methamphetamine issue - with inmates drawn from, and returned to,
Southern Illinois communities.

"In central and Southern Illinois, meth is really at crisis
proportions," she said.

Blagojevich will give his speech at noon in the Illinois House.