DRUG COURT WILL OFFER ALTERNATIVE TO JAIL, PRISON

New Program Can Help Offenders Will Pick 10 To 12 Offenders

JERSEYVILLE -- Jersey County officials are screening candidates for a new
program aimed at steering drug offenders toward productive lives rather
than sending them to prison.

The county will establish a drug court similar to one in neighboring
Madison County that has been in operation since 1996.

Jersey County Circuit Judge Thomas Russell said that a drug court had been
one of his goals for several years and that he was glad to see it get started.

"This is an important idea, and I'd like to see it work well and perhaps
spread to the other counties of our circuit," Russell said. Jersey County
is one of six counties in the state's Seventh Judicial Circuit.

Russell said he thought a drug court could benefit the other counties as
well, especially Sangamon County, the most populous county in the circuit.

"We're at the stage of finding clients," said Richard Perdun, the county's
chief probation officer and drug court coordinator. Perdun said he and his
colleagues were reviewing the cases of people with pending drug charges for
potential participation in drug court.

"We're looking for users, abusers and addicts but not people with a violent
past or people who are involved in sales (of drugs)," he said.

For people convicted of a drug crime, the program offers an opportunity to
avoid prison and have a conviction removed from their record - in return
for a commitment to turn around their lives.

The program is rigorous. In the first phase, participants must appear
before Russell once a week, submit to drug testing three times a week and
spend six hours with a counselor weekly. The requirements become less
demanding over time, but the program lasts 15 months.

Participants receive help with mental health, family and vocational issues
to boost self-esteem and establish good work and family situations.

When such a program is successful, it saves the cost of imprisonment,
reduces crime and helps people become productive citizens who can pay taxes
and support themselves and their families, Perdun said.

Jersey County received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that
paid for the costs of drug court training for 10 officials, including
Russell, Perdun, State's Attorney Mary Kirbach and Public Defender Anne Clough.

Russell said officials were thrilled but surprised to get the grant. He
said Jersey County, with a population of just under 22,000, was probably
one of the least-populous counties in the country to receive a grant.

Perdun said he expected the program to serve 10 to 12 offenders in full
swing and add more over time. Although Jersey County is rural, drug arrests
have increased in recent years, he said.

"This is a great idea," Perdun said. "We're anxious to get going."