Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jul 2008 Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Copyright: 2008 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107 Author: Melody M. Heaps STATE BUDGET CUTS AND THE COUNTY JAIL The problems at the Cook County jail will only get worse when the state's drastic budget cuts to substance abuse treatment take effect ("Feds blast conditions at Cook County jail," July 18). The Illinois House voted on July 16 to override Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of $43 million for state alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment programs. The Illinois Senate must follow suit. If the budget cuts stand, substance abuse treatment in Illinois will be slashed by nearly 50 percent. Half of those in state-funded treatment in Illinois are referred to treatment by the justice system. This is no wonder since at least half of felony offenders have a substance abuse problem requiring intervention. Treatment is effective in reducing addiction-driven crime. A national study showed that a year following treatment, arrests declined 64 percent among former users. In Cook County, the costs and consequences of the budget cuts to our criminal justice system will occur immediately. Justice will stall as waiting times swell for clinical assessments, court processing, and drug treatment access. One example: Judges mandate thousands of nonviolent, addicted offenders to supervised substance abuse treatment. When community-based treatment is not available, the alternatives are to send addicted offenders back to the community or send them to jail or prison -- at nearly five times the cost to taxpayers. As your article shows, incarceration hardly amounts to rehabilitation. The Senate can sit idle as 42,000 people in Illinois are kicked out of care, as current waiting lists of 7,500 are doubled, as the wheels of justice are slowed, and as public safety decreases. Or the Senate can restore the state's budget for treatment and avert the costly consequences to families, communities, and taxpayers. The Senate must act. We implore Senate President Emil Jones and the Senate leadership to call a special session so that a vote can be held on the veto overrides passed by the House. Melody M. Heaps President Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, Inc. Chicago - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin