McHenry County Blog

A press release from the McHenry County Circuit Court:

Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County Drug Court Program Set to Begin

WOODSTOCK, IL – After nearly two years of planning, the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit Drug Court Program will begin on Thursday, December 1^st.  Associate Judge Michael W. Feetterer has been selected to preside over the drug court call.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit Drug Court Program would be receiving funding from the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 11 Adult Drug Court Discretionary: Implementation Grant Program in the amount of $305,717.00 to fund the program for a period of three years.  The grant was awarded by competitive process to jurisdictions which have completed a substantial amount of planning and are ready to implement an evidence-based adult drug court program.

A drug court program is a highly specialized, multifaceted collaborative effort, overseen by the court to divert individuals who commit crime and are addicted to drugs or alcohol, from the traditional criminal justice system.  These individuals will be identified early, screened and upon acceptance placed into an intensely supervised and highly structured program.  The program will target individuals who have a high risk of committing new offenses and a high need for treatment and other services to address the participant’s individual issues.  Participants referred to the program must be involved in the program within 60 days of their first appearance with counsel or they will not be considered.

Drug courts programs are specifically designed to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance abusing offenders and to increase the offender’s likelihood of successful rehabilitation through early, continuous and intense judicially supervised treatment, mandatory random drug testing, community supervision and use of appropriate sanctions and other rehabilitation services.

Referrals for Drug Court are expected to come from probation officers, public defenders, private attorneys and police officers. Defendants being assessed for the program must meet program eligibility criteria including; McHenry County residency, age of 17 years or older at the time of the offense, a current felony  offense and alcohol/drug dependence as well as statutory eligibility outlined in 730 ILCS 166/20. DUI charges will not be accepted into the Drug Court Program. If general eligibility requirements are met, defendants will undergo evaluations to determine their level of criminogenic risk/needs and substance use.

A press release from the McHenry County Circuit Court:

Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County Receives Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Adult Drug Court Discretionary: Implementation Grant

WOODSTOCK, IL – The Twenty Second Judicial Circuit is pleased to announce that the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) announced that the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit will be receiving funding from the FY 11 Adult Drug Court Discretionary:

Implementation Grant Program in the amount of $305,717.

BJA is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Community Capacity Development Office and the Office of Sex Offenders Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking.

The BJA Adult Drug Court Discretionary: Implementation Grant is available by competitive grant process to jurisdictions which have completed a substantial amount of planning and are ready to implement an evidence-based adult drug court program.
The Twenty Second Judicial Circuit wishes to recognize Mr. Scott A. Block, Specialty Court Coordinator, as the principal writer for producing a document which will bring federal dollars into McHenry County. Scott was initially hired by the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit in August of 2009 as the Mental Health Court Coordinator. Since then Scott has sought and taken on additional responsibilities, such as coordinating the drug court planning initiative, coordinating many educational opportunities, seeking out funding opportunities and has taken the lead in the planning of a potential domestic violence court.

According to the BJA (2005) an adult drug court is a specially designed court calendar and the purposes of which are

• to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance abusing offenders and
• to increase the offender’s likelihood of successful habilitation through early, continuous and intense judicially supervised treatment, mandatory random drug testing, community supervision and use of appropriate sanctions and other rehabilitation services

In collaboration with the

• McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office,
• McHenry County Public Defender’s Office,
• McHenry County Court Services,
• McHenry County Sheriff’s Office,
• McHenry County Bar Association,
• McHenry County Mental Health Board,
• Family Service and Community Mental Health Center and Centegra Health Systems,

the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit is scheduled to convene its Adult Drug Court program on December 1, 2011 with Hon. Michael W. Feetterer presiding.

Referrals for the Adult Drug Court program are expected to come from

• probation officers,
• public defenders,
• private attorneys and
• police officers.

Defendants being assessed for the program must meet program eligibility criteria including;

• McHenry County residency,
• age 17 years or older at the time of the offense,
• a current nonviolent felony offense in McHenry County,
• a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of alcohol/drug dependence and statutory eligibility criteria as outlined in 730 ILCS 166/20.

This year, State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) followed up on an idea that my former legislative assistant Pete Castillo originated while working for the Illinois Department of Employment Security getting jobs for homeless and other unemployed veterans:

Pete’s idea was a veterans court, similar to the mental health court instituted by McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi and Judge Charles Weech.

It’s over two years old now.

And, here’s an idea that is only slightly ahead of its time in Illinois:

Illinois is going to have a lot of problems with people being addicted. Even with a casino down the Fox River in Elgin, I remember a story about a McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy having been arrested for stealing from the department’s evidence room.