Public Act 095-0160
 
HB2734 Enrolled LRB095 01030 RLC 21032 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Drug
School Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings; purpose. The General Assembly finds as
follows:
        (1) One of the many objectives of the Illinois criminal
    justice system is individual rehabilitation.
        (2) The incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders
    with families breaks the family unit.
        (3) The recidivism rate of nonviolent drug offenders in
    Illinois is 53%.
        (4) Nonviolent drug offenders are in need of
    alternatives to incarceration such as counseling and
    treatment.
        (5) Drug addiction is recognized as a health issue
    around the country.
        (6) The Cook County State's Attorney drug school
    program has a success rate of over 85%.
        (7) The State of Illinois spends $22,607 on one adult
    incarceration.
        (8) The State of Illinois will save more than
    $17,000,000 if treatment programs are offered in lieu of
    incarceration.
    The purpose of this Act is to establish, subject to
appropriation, a drug school program for nonviolent drug
offenders statewide modeled after the Cook County State's
Attorney drug school program.
 
    Section 10. Definition. As used in this Act, "drug school"
means a drug intervention and education program established and
administered by the State's Attorney's Office of a particular
county as an alternative to traditional prosecution. A drug
school shall include, but not be limited to, the following core
components:
        (1) No less than 10 and no more than 20 hours of drug
    education delivered by an organization licensed, certified
    or otherwise authorized by the Illinois Department of Human
    Services, Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse to
    provide treatment, intervention, education or other such
    services. This education is to be delivered at least once
    per week at a class of no less than one hour and no greater
    than 4 hours, and with a class size no larger than 40
    individuals.
        (2) Curriculum designed to present the harmful effects
    of drug use on the individual, family and community,
    including the relationship between drug use and criminal
    behavior, as well as instruction regarding the application
    procedure for the sealing and expungement of records of
    arrest and any other record of the proceedings of the case
    for which the individual was mandated to attend the drug
    school.
        (3) Education regarding the practical consequences of
    conviction and continued justice involvement. Such
    consequences of drug use will include the negative
    physiological, psychological, societal, familial, and
    legal areas. Additionally, the practical limitations
    imposed by a drug conviction on one's vocational,
    educational, financial, and residential options will be
    addressed.
        (4) A process for monitoring and reporting attendance
    such that the State's Attorney in the county where the drug
    school is being operated is informed of class attendance no
    more than 48 hours after each class.
        (5) A process for capturing data on drug school
    participants, including but not limited to total
    individuals served, demographics of those individuals,
    rates of attendance, and frequency of future justice
    involvement for drug school participants and other data as
    may be required by the Division of Alcoholism and Substance
    Abuse.
 
    Section 15. Authorization.
    (a) Each State's Attorney may establish a drug school
operated under the terms of this Act. The purpose of the drug
school shall be to provide an alternative to prosecution by
identifying drug-involved individuals for the purpose of
intervening with their drug use before their criminal
involvement becomes severe. The State's Attorney shall
identify criteria to be used in determining eligibility for the
drug school. Only those participants who successfully complete
the requirements of the drug school, as certified by the
State's Attorney, are eligible to apply for the sealing and
expungement of records of arrest and any other record of the
proceedings of the case for which the individual was mandated
to attend the drug school.
    (b) A State's Attorney seeking to establish a drug school
may apply to the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse of
the Illinois Department of Human Services ("DASA") for funding
to establish and operate a drug school within his or her
respective county. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent
State's Attorneys from establishing drug schools within their
counties without funding from DASA.
    (c) Nothing in this Act shall prevent 2 or more State's
Attorneys from applying jointly for funding as provided in
subsection (b) for the purpose of establishing a drug school
that serves multiple counties.
    (d) Drug schools established through funding from DASA
shall operate according to the guidelines established thereby
and the provisions of this Act.
 
    Section 20. Eligibility.
    (a) The State's Attorney, alone, in each county where a
drug school is established shall have the authority to
determine which individuals, who would otherwise be prosecuted
under the relevant provisions of Illinois law, may be eligible
to participate in the drug school in lieu of prosecution.
    (b) A defendant may be admitted into drug school only upon
the agreement of the prosecutor and the defendant.
 
    Section 25. Process.
    (a) The State's Attorney, alone, in each county where a
drug school is established shall determine who is eligible to
participate in the drug school in lieu of prosecution.
Considerations in making such a determination shall include the
crime committed, the circumstances of the crime or of the
individual under consideration, and whether or not the State's
Attorney believes that the individual would benefit from
participation in the drug school.
    (b) The judge shall inform the defendant that if the
defendant fails to meet the conditions of drug school,
eligibility to participate in the program may be revoked and
the defendant may be prosecuted under the criminal laws of this
State and sentenced as provided in the Unified Code of
Corrections for the crime charged.
    (c) The defendant shall execute a written agreement as to
his or her participation in the drug school program and shall
agree to all of the terms and conditions of the program,
including but not limited to the possibility of prosecution for
the crime charged for failing to abide or comply with the terms
of the drug school program or for any arrest incurred
subsequent to entry into the drug school program.
 
    Section 30. Successful completion. If an individual is
certified by the State's Attorney that he or she has
successfully completed the terms of the drug school, the
State's Attorney shall waive prosecution for the immediate
offense and discharge the case.
 
    Section 35. Violations. Upon a violation of any of the
terms of the drug school, the State's Attorney may proceed with
prosecution as otherwise authorized under law.
 
    Section 40. Appropriations to DASA.
    (a) Moneys shall be appropriated to DASA to enable DASA (i)
to contract with Cook County, and (ii) counties other than Cook
County to reimburse for services delivered in those counties
under the county Drug School program.
    (b) DASA shall establish rules and procedures for
reimbursements paid to the Cook County Treasurer which are not
subject to county appropriation and are not intended to
supplant monies currently expended by Cook County to operate
its drug school program. Cook County is required to maintain
its efforts with regard to its drug school program.
    (c) Expenditure of moneys under this Section is subject to
audit by the Auditor General.
    (d) In addition to reporting required by DASA, State's
Attorneys receiving monies under this Section shall each report
separately to the General Assembly by January 1, 2008 and each
and every following January 1 for as long as the services are
in existence, detailing the need for continued services and
contain any suggestions for changes to this Act.