COURT DRUG PROGRAM DOING ITS JOB

When Latina Washington walked into court two years ago she had
countless arrests for prostitution, drugs and gang violence.

Washington, 44, knew that if she didn't get her life together she
would either spend the remainder of her days behind bars or she would
end up dead. She had been using drugs to deal with her underlying
mental-health issues.

But Criminal Court Judge Lawrence Fox gave Washington a third option:
She could enroll in the new Mental Health Court program that focused
on people, like her, who struggle with mental-health issues and with drugs.

On Thursday Washington became the first woman in the county to
graduate from the program. Two other people graduated with her in a
ceremony held in the Cook County Criminal Courts Building. There were
also 33 people completing a similar program for drugs.

"I came through the storm and made it," she sang to the audience in a
gospel song. "It feels great; it feels cleansing. I no longer feel
dirty, I feel pure now."

The Mental Health Court program, instituted about two years ago, was
designed for people diagnosed with mental-health problems who were
not getting treatment for their conditions. The participants are
expected to remain free of drugs.

Cook County State's Atty. Richard Devine said 37 people are now
enrolled in the program. He said that before joining the program each
participant had an average of 35 arrests.

The difficult part, he warned the graduates, was to remain free of
drugs and continue treatment.

"This is about commitment and drive. All of us have nothing but the
greatest desire that you succeed," Devine said.

Cook County Chief Criminal Judge Paul Biebel Jr., who helped
institute the program, congratulated the graduates and called it a success.

"This is a labor of love for us," Biebel said, describing it as a
productive effort "not to just put people away but to help them with
their lives."

Another graduate, Harrison Wines, 26, said his involvement taught him
to believe in himself. Sitting next to his fiance, Brandi Fox, he
said he was training to become an electrician, moved out of his
former neighborhood and learned to depend on himself.

"It's all up to you. If you are serious, the program will help you a
lot; if not, you'll fall," he said. "It helped me get my life focused."