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The goal of the meetings is to
improve public safety by addressing recidivism among meth offenders
through the development of a model treatment program that begins
within the prison setting and transitions the offenders back to
their communities under a highly supervised and supported re-entry
program. The meth initiative is consistent with recommendations
being developed over the past year by the governor's appointed
Community Safety and Reentry Commission, which is co-chaired by
Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons and the Rev. Jesse
Jackson and facilitated by the Department of Human Services and the
Department of Corrections. "Methamphetamine is a devastating drug
that destroys families and individuals and is one of the major crime
problems for communities," said Cundiff, the Williamson County
sheriff. "I am pleased the governor is taking action to establish a
national model meth prison and re-entry program that will address
drug abuse among prisoners and help them successfully return to
society. This is a smart investment in prevention that will help
reduce crime and recidivism."
The governor's meth prison initiative includes creating two meth
units, one at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center and one at
Sheridan. This year, the governor will create a 200-bed meth unit at
the 667-bed Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center and make the
entire prison another fully dedicated drug prison and re-entry
program like the model of Sheridan. Next year, the governor will
expand the Sheridan Correctional Center from 950 offenders to its
full capacity of 1,300 offenders, with 200 of those spaces to be
used for another meth unit. As with the current Sheridan model,
inmates in both programs will not only access intensive prison-based
drug treatment programs, vocational training, job preparation and
mental health services, but offenders' treatment will continue upon
completion of their sentence under a highly supervised transition
back to their communities.
Because there are not many known model meth programs targeted
toward criminal justice populations, the governor has charged the
Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services, and the
Community Safety and Reentry Commission with conducting ongoing
outreach to seek recommendations from high-impact communities and
experts across the nation regarding their suggestions for the
program.
"The governor's new meth prison initiative gives IDOC the
opportunity to continue our efforts to develop new and innovative
ways to address the impact of drugs on crime and recidivism,
especially regarding the meth crisis that plagues so many
communities in central and southern Illinois," said Walker, the
Department of Corrections director.
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 "This two-year initiative will not only bring the effective
programs from the Sheridan project to all 667 inmates at
Southwestern in year one, but enroll 200 of them in a model meth
unit treatment program. In addition, it will result in the full
expansion of the Sheridan program in fiscal year 2008 that will also
include a second 200-bed meth unit based upon models developed at
Southwestern.
"Since Sheridan opened in 2004 as a drug prison and re-entry
program, the results are still early but have been promising. The
program has maintained a 50 percent lower reincarceration rate than
average. In addition, a larger percentage of Sheridan program
participants are becoming employed more regularly and quickly,
compared to other parolees."
"The cycle of drugs, crime and poverty will continue to destroy
our communities and families unless aggressive action is taken to
address these issues," said Binion-Taylor, the director of the
Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. "I am proud to be part
of this great initiative in taking advantage of a smart investment
in prevention."
The Department of Corrections reports that approximately 800
offenders in the department have been incarcerated for meth-related
crimes. In year 2004, Illinois had 490 inmates in prison for meth-related
offenses. In fiscal year 2005, that number jumped to 541 meth-related
inmates.
The southern geographic region is one of the most troublesome
methamphetamine regions in the state, according to fiscal 2004
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority data. During
calendar year 2004, there were 773 methamphetamine lab seizures in
the southern region, which is 246 more compared with the rest of the
state. The region accounted for 216 meth prison admissions. It also
accounted for 2,900 methamphetamine treatment admissions, according
to the state office of the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.
The region also had 1,919 cases submitted by law enforcement to the
Illinois State Police crime labs.
When frequencies and rates per 100,000 people are calculated for
meth-related variables, the southern region far exceeds the combined
total of the northern and central regions. Based on fiscal 2004
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority data, people from
the southern region are eight times more likely to be admitted to
prison and 14 more times as likely to be admitted to treatment for
meth-related problems.
During fiscal 2005, the southern Illinois region had 296 meth
prison admissions.
[Illinois
Department of Corrections news release] |
