LARGEST DRUG COURT CLASS SET TO GRADUATE

URBANA - It took Jeanine Wright a little longer than her teachers had
hoped, but on Monday she will graduate from one of the toughest
schools in the world – Champaign County's drug court.

Wright, 30, of Urbana is among seven – the largest class
ever– to have completed the program designed to get people
whose crimes are linked to their drug addiction back on the straight
and narrow.

"She has had numerous issues – mental health, family, medical,
medication. We have gotten her through all of that, and she told me
yesterday she's gotten a job," Champaign County Judge Jeff Ford said
earlier this week of one of his pupils.

"This is someone we thought would never work. Her daughter has
medical issues, and she was able to get her daughter to the doctor
and handle it. She's been able to really take control of her life,
which she never really has before," Ford said of the 30-year-old
woman who's been in drug court since February 2003.

Ideally, those in charge of the program would like those sentenced to
it to get through in a year. But that's not realistic for many.

The class graduating Monday is the 13th to go through since Champaign
County launched drug court in March 1999.

Five men and two women will be honored by Ford for their efforts to
get their addictions and the rest of their lives under control.

Of the graduates, the one who spent the least time in his courtroom
every Monday afternoon made it through in 14 months.

Mike Carey of the probation office, who supervises the drug court
clients, said there are currently just more than 40 people in drug
court.

In its seven-year history, 57 have made it through the program.
Assuming all seven graduate Monday, that will bring the number of
success stories to 64.

"When we first started this program, someone asked, 'What would you
expect?'" Ford said. "My answer was, 'I just want someone to
graduate,' because with our criteria, it's a tough program. There's
probably attorneys who don't like it because it's too tough. We want
these people to succeed, and we give them the best chance to succeed.
Sometimes we get people who self-defeat because they're afraid to
move on. We've just got to help them through."