"No one ever wakes up and says, 'You know, I think I want to be a drug addict,' " says Mike Shears, drug court officer. That's part of the mind frame that shapes the drug court in Whiteside County, IL. If you think that drug court, a specialized diversionary court program, is a dark place full of dreary proceedings that involve the dregs of society, you're wrong. It's a place that regularly celebrates the successes of alcohol and drug addicted felons. It's a place that transforms lives, mends relationships, and stops the revolving door of recividism- the act of felons being jailed and freed, only to repeat the same crimes as before. Need some good news? It's right here.
