McMahon progam about a second chance for casual drug user
By May, Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon hopes to launch a program for first-time offenders caught with minor amounts of controlled substances.
“We’re close. We’ve made a lot of progress,” McMahon said Tuesday.
“It’s about giving people an opportunity who are low-level, first-time offenders,” he said, and “applying our resources toward our most serious violent crime.”
McMahon first mentioned the idea in January, and since has garnered praise from area police chiefs. He plans to speak to the Kane County Bar Association later this month, get more feedback in April, and hopefully launch the yet-to-be-named program in May.
The program would not be open to gang members, defendants with prior drug arrests or drug dealers. It would be different from the county’s existing drug court, which is an intensive program that gives hard-core users one final chance to get clean or face a hefty prison term.
McMahon’s program would be 12 months long and require defendants to pay fines and fees, undergo counseling, learn about the dangers of drugs, perform community service and pass four random drug tests. If a defendant completes the program, prosecutors will dismiss the felony charge and the defendant also can apply to have the actual arrest expunged.
Currently, people caught with minor amounts of drugs but still charged with felony possession of a controlled substance can get two years probation and, if completed, apply two years later to have an arrest expunged.
That entire process could take up to five years and saps time from prosecutors, judges and police officers. The new program would allow people arrested to clear their records in about 15 to 16 months of they complete every step.
Other counties, such as Cook, have second chance programs for drug offenders.
McMahon said the new program isn’t about saving money, but reallocating resources more efficiently and giving a casual drug user a chance to avoid a felony conviction for one poor choice.
“It will allow them to return to the workforce sooner, which is good for all of us as well,” McMahon said.