State’s attorney gives $16,300 to fight drugs

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin’s office awarded 33 grants Thursday to area drug prevention programs, officials said.

The grants totaling $16,300 were awarded to schools and organizations through the 2010-2011 Drug Forfeiture Grant Program. They were derived from cash and property forfeited from drug dealers.

More than 30 students, school administrators and teachers formally received their grants during a luncheon at the Wheaton courthouse.

“The foundation of effective drug control rests not with the criminal justice system, but relies on educating our children about the dangers and consequences of drug use,” Berlin said at the ceremony.

The state’s attorney’s office initiated the program in 1990 and, since then, has provided 507 grants totaling more than $190,000.

The grants are used to provide financial assistance for programs such as Red Ribbon and Character Counts, provide scholarships for low-income or high-risk students to attend drug prevention programs, as well as subsidize other drug prevention curriculum, Berlin’s office said.

“I cannot stress enough how important these programs are,” Berlin said. “They are our first line of defense in the war on drugs.”

Berlin’s office said the law provides for the forfeiture of certain assets used by drug dealers or assets purchased with drug monies. Proceeds from the sale of these assets get divided among all law enforcement agencies that played a role in the case.

The state’s attorney’s narcotics unit is run in part with funds generated as a result of these forfeitures.