Drug Court Information Page

Click on any of the following links to read News-Gazette articles written about Champaign County Drug Court.

June 4, 2000: Drug court Program helps put Urbana man on 'right track'; At the age of 51, James Winston walked across the stage at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts last month to receive his associate's degree from Parkland College.

June 4, 2000: Drug court Class of drug-, crime-free 'grads' a first for county; Most school administrators would be loathe to admit they have a 45 percent graduation rate.; But administrators in Champaign County's drug court program are ecstatic to have five out of 11 people who have been sentenced to the program for a year graduating tomorrow.

December 13, 2003: Graduating from drug use; The cake has been ordered and the punch is chilling. Now all that's needed for another successful Champaign County drug court graduation is for its graduates not to fall off the wagon this weekend.

December 14, 2004: Drug court graduates largest class ever; There were no caps and gowns, no Pomp and Circumstance playing in the background.; But Monday's graduation from Champaign County's drug court program was no less momentous for the five men and three women who were in the class.

June 18, 2005: Five to 'graduate' Monday from drug court; There are few causes for celebration inside the felony courtrooms at the Champaign County Courthouse.; But one is planned for Monday afternoon when another five drug addicts are expected to graduate from drug court.

December 17, 2005: Drug court prepares for 5 more graduates on Monday; Another five men are on deck to graduate from Champaign County's drug court program on Monday.; The men represent the 12th class to stay drug-free and crime-free for a year since the county began the drug court program six years ago.

June 17, 2006: Largest class set to graduate; It took Jeanine Wright a little longer than her teachers had hoped, but on Monday she will graduate from one of the toughest schools in the world – Champaign County's drug court.; Wright, 30, of Urbana is among seven – the largest class ever– to have completed the program designed to get people whose crimes are linked to their drug addiction back on the straight and narrow.

December 16, 2006: 3 to graduate from Drug Court; While a year may not sound long to some people who haven't struggled with drug addiction or the criminal activity frequently associated with it, Ford points out that it's a major accomplishment for these three men.

June 16, 2007: Program graduates picked up habits as teens; Four women and one man graduating from Champaign County's drug court Monday have a sad fact in common. They started their drug and alcohol use as budding teens.

December 15, 2007: Five are just days away from making the grade; Barring any last-minute falls from the wagon, the group will walk out the door of the Champaign County courthouse as the 16th class to complete the program overseen by Judge Jeff Ford since its inception in March 1999. Assuming all five make it, it will bring to 77 the total number to have completed the program.

June 14, 2008: Drug Court Class Thrills Judge; Champaign County Judge Jeff Ford had a pleasant surprise as he was researching the current class of drug court clients set to graduate on Monday.; He couldn´t find any new criminal cases that any of them had picked up while under his supervision.

December 22, 2008: Graduate of Drug Court reaching out; “I was a crippled man at the edge of a river, and drug court picked me up and took me over the river. I´ve been so blessed. I have a home where I was homeless. I have a car which I´m not trying to sell to a drug dealer. I have a good job and my education. My children are back in my life,” he said.

June 21, 2009: You gotta fight it the rest of your life; For the last several Father´s Days, John Darnall hasn´t felt whole.; On June 27, 2004, his daughters, Jessica, 18, and Jenae, 16, were killed in a traffic accident in Florida. All too willing to drink anyway, the loss of two of his three children sent Darnall into a tailspin fueled by Busch Light.

December 19, 2009: Couples Counseling; Anthony and Melissa Lackey are celebrating a very different kind of Christmas this year. They´re clean and sober, together, for the first time in the nine years they´ve been a couple.; A husband-and-wife set of graduates is a first for the program which has graduated 125 people in its 10-year history.

June 21, 2010: The Long Road to Sobriety; Kristi Keller is having a ball experiencing a jillion things she missed out on during her 20s and early 30s.; “I feel very free, happier than I can recall any other previous moment in my life. It’s every day. (Without drug court) I would be dead.”

December 11,2010: Tired of jail, woman cleans up her act; Mary Jo Holmes doesn’t blame anyone but herself for the 18 years of her life she’s lost to drug addiction.; While Holmes was preoccupied with crack cocaine, her friends took care of her daughter. Her daughter’s father provided financial support.; “I hate that she suffered like that. That’s my one regret — that I didn’t raise my daughter right. I’m so sorry for what I put her through.”

March 24, 2011: 3 area residents who have "made great strides" set to graduate today; The three graduates, who range in age from 35 to 51, all started using alcohol and marijuana in their teens.; Two of the graduates have been in drug court since September 2008, and the other started in January 2009, Ford said.; “These three have had their ups and downs, but they have really made great strides,” Ford said. “When you talk about long-term addiction, sometimes it is hard to overcome something a person has been using for over 20 years.”

June 8, 2011: In 18 days in jail, Ashley Mabry hated that she was cut off from her heroin habit. Now she sees that as a life saver. At 7:30 PM tonight in the Parkland Theater, the 21 year old Champaign woman will be one of the three top GED student speakers out of a 71 member graduating class.

June 11, 2011: Collectively, they've been high a really long time. And they've spent a whole lot of time in jail or prison and at the Probation Office because of it. But hopefully after Monday, another 15 people won't find themselves back in the criminal justice system because of their addictions.

Nov. 6, 2011: It's about Rebuilding Lives - Del Ryan sees parallels between his former career as an educator and his new job working with convicted drug addicts.

Dec. 17, 2011: Drug court hoping grads prove savings - The 14 men and women graduating from Champaign County’s drug court Monday have pretty much worn out their welcome at the courthouse.

June 16, 2012: 25th drug court class yields 8 more successes - Six men and two women who have a total of 22 sentences to prison in their past are on track to graduate from Champaign County Drug Court.