STATE'S 'DRUG PRISON' STEERING EX-INMATES FROM LIFE OF CRIME

When he was locked up in 2001, it was Anthony Edwards' sixth time
behind bars.

He was typical of drug-abusing Illinois inmates who can't seem to stay
out of trouble once they're freed.

For two decades, Edwards was in and out of state prison for robberies,
thefts and a weapons offense linked to his cocaine habit. But he
finally found the motivation to straighten out his life when he was
transferred to Sheridan Correctional Center a year ago.

"They put a lot of emphasis on my re-entry into society," said
Edwards, an ex-gang member who lives in Joliet and attends college
now. "We made resumes, cover letters, did mock interviews."

Sheridan, which closed in 2002, reopened in January 2004 as a prison
that focuses exclusively on drug treatment. There are about a dozen
"drug prisons" in the country, but Illinois authorities think Sheridan
is the largest.

Statistics show advances

Today, on the program's first anniversary, Gov. Blagojevich will
unveil preliminary statistics that show the strategy is working.

A report by Dave Olson, head of the criminal justice department at
Loyola University, compared the first 150 inmates paroled this year
from the Sheridan program with a group of other parolees with similar
histories. About 12 percent of the Sheridan parolees were arrested
again -- compared with 27 percent from the other group.

"What makes these initial findings even more impressive is the fact
that the participants in the program have very extensive substance
abuse and criminal histories," Olson said.

Parole agents to double

There are 1,100 beds at the prison, which is about 70 miles southwest
of downtown Chicago. Federally funded construction of a new 200-bed
unit will be finished by the end of 2005. Murderers and sex offenders
are barred from the medium-security facility.

Gateway Foundation runs the drug treatment at the prison and SAFER
Foundation operates the mandatory job-preparedness program.

Edwards, 33, is certain his stay at Sheridan will be his last
experience with prison. He enrolled at Joliet Junior College after
leaving Sheridan in September and is working as a laborer in a warehouse.

Sheridan is part of Blagojevich's response to Illinois' 54 percent
recidivism rate. His Operation Spotlight will double the number of
parole agents over four years, said Deanne Benos, an assistant
director of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

"This is a new way to be tough on crime," Benos said.