COUNTY'S DRUG COURT GRADUATES FOUR

SYCAMORE - For the first time in his life, Daniel said, he is happy
with who he is.

On Nov. 9, 2006, Daniel became the first person taken into the DeKalb
County Drug Court, an intensive counseling and rehabilitation program
that is an alternative to a prison sentence. The Daily Chronicle is
using drug court participants' first names only because of a request
for privacy.

Sixty court appearances later, he became the first person to graduate
from it, on Friday night. Drug court works to help addicts kick their
habit, reunite families and build self-esteem, said the court's
facilitators and participants.

And that's what was celebrated Fri-day in the Gathertorium of the
Leg-is-lative Center in Sycamore as four people graduated in the first
com-mencement ceremony for the program.

"This program actually does work," Daniel said. "I've accomplished
more in two years than I'd done in 10. I feel happy with life for the
first time. I am who I am, and I'm just doing it like that."

Drug court was started about two years ago with start-up funding from
the DeKalb County Board. Solely for nonviolent offenders who are not
drug dealers, the program works to end the cycle of incarceration,
release and new crimes that land addicts back in police custody.

The 10-person court team includes members from local law enforcement
and judicial, legal and counseling agencies.

It's a five-phase program, and each step takes about three months.
Participants must go through residential treatment for their
addiction, then have a stringent regimen to follow that includes daily
check-ins, frequent drug testing and, often, weekly court appearances,
drug court coordinator Marilyn Stromborg said in a phone interview
Wednesday.

Participants also must find work and attend counseling sessions. For
participants to graduate, all fines and costs must be paid, as well as
any restitution they might owe to crime victims. Those that make it
through see their criminal charges reduced or dismissed. Those who
don't face significant time in prison.

The drug court team meets weekly to vote on the next step for each
participant. The next time drug court is in session, those decisions
are handed down after the members check in with participants.

At a session in Courtroom 204 of the DeKalb County Courthouse on
Friday morning, one participant was sentenced to 30 days in the county
jail for causing trouble at the housing facility where he was staying.
Another participant was applauded for finding a job after a long
search in a tough economy.

Team member and DeKalb County Public Defender Regina Harris said the
small size of the county's drug court program - there are only about
30 participants - helps make it successful and allows the team to
focus on what each person needs. At least 80 people have applied to
take part, Stromborg said.

The program costs about $150,000 a year to run, and funding primarily
comes from fees tacked on to traffic and felony convictions, Stromborg
said. Grants also help, like a $172,000 earmark from former U.S. Rep.
Dennis Hastert that has allowed the program to bring on a probation
officer and help with treatment, she added.

Kurt Klein, presiding judge of DeKalb County, said he was hesitant at
first to commit to starting a drug court, because of limited resources
and his concern that it would add more work to an already stressed
judicial system.

But he said he became a believer in it after seeing other drug courts
and from the passion Stromborg and Circuit Judge Robbin Stuckert had
for the idea.

DeKalb County State's Attorney Ron Matekaitis, a member of the drug
court team, said he initially wasn't sold on the idea of drug court,
either, because he used to think that the best place for an addict who
committed a crime was prison.

But he said that during his eight years as state's attorney, he has
come to realize that was a failed strategy that categorizes addicts as
lost.

"You come to understand that everything isn't always black and white,
that there are more shades of gray than you can imagine," he added
after Friday's ceremony.

The four people who graduated Friday thanked the drug court team for
the faith and time they had dedicated to the program and its
participants.

Graduate Deb said she had been using drugs and committing crimes for
years. It took 11 months in jail before she realized she wanted to try
something new and decided to apply for drug court. Two years later,
she is drug-free, has a home and a daughter, is able to pay her bills
and said she is proud of who she has become.

'I'm not going to say this program is easy. You really have to want to
quit your old ways," she said. " ... It's hard, but life is hard."