Monday was a day of celebration in the Cook County courthouse courtroom as Tom Young graduated from Drug Court. The courtroom was packed with well wishers and Tom’s two biggest fans. His daughters, Andrea, age 5, and Marcie, age 2, were also his two biggest supporters during the proceedings. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
If not for Cook County’s drug court program and the gift of salvation, Tom Young said he might very well be in prison, or worse.
Young, 35, had been a drug and alcohol addict since he was 11. “From 11 to 19 I used alcohol and marijuana. From 19 to 33 I was addicted to meth.”
He was attracted to drugs and alcohol, he said, as a way to fit in and escape from trouble, but the more he used, the more trouble found him.
He lost his house. His two vehicles were repossessed. But far worse, he said, the mother of his two children left him and took their two daughters.
“I wanted to die. There was no reason to live. The last 10 years of my addiction I tried many times to stop using on my own. I never made it more than 30 days. I was also in and out of day treatments. Nothing worked.
“During that time I had two heart attacks and an aneurism that had to be repaired. I was life flighted to Duluth. I was unconscious for five days after my second heart attack and for a time after I had trouble thinking clearly.”
Then there was the trouble with the law. “I had six felonies against me the last time I went to court. That’s when I went into the drug court program. I never had a hiccup during the five steps of the program.”
But Young didn’t take his walk to sobriety alone. “Bill and Maribeth Doucette and Randy Sjogren have been there with me every step of the way. They have encouraged me and helped me financially and been huge blessings to me.”
Two other sponsors in AA that helped him on his journey to sobriety also assisted him.
On Monday, August 13 the courtroom was a place of celebration as judge Michael Cuzzo told Young, “You made our jobs easy. You are a spectacular addition to the team. When we first met I never imagined we would get to this point.”
As Cuzzo spoke Tom’s adorable daughters, Andrea, age 5, and Marcie, age 2, flanked an emotional Young.
When the judge finished talking he presented Young with a plaque signifying his graduation from drug court. Tom is the first person to graduate from the Cook County program.
Led by Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken, the entire courtroom—which was packed—stood and cheered and clapped for Young.
Hicken said she had been prosecuting law in Cook County for 11 years and thought about bringing Tom’s burgeoning legal files with her to the courtroom, “just to demonstrate how many files” Young had amassed, but she thought better of it and offered him some advice instead, saying his exemplary time in drug court and his positive, helpful nature to assist others in a similar situation would have a “ripple effect” through the program.
As for Tom, he has been taking college classes and hopes to become a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. So far his GPA is 4.0.
“I hope I can bring some direction and hope to people who really need it. Being able to relate to counselors who had gone through the same problems as I have gone through really helped me,” he said.
“Two years ago, October 7, I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I’m not trying to be a preacher, but without accepting Christ as my savior I could never have done this. I’m not perfect. I haven’t had a perfect walk with the Lord. I just try to be a better person each and every day.”
Instead of waking up fearful he would be sent to jail, hung over, or coming down from a drug high, Young wakes up every day working to build a better tomorrow for himself, his daughters, and for those he can help.
“When I was on drugs I was living selfishly. Now I’m trying to be there for my family, my daughters. I used to be materialistic, but I’ve learned there are treasures far greater than ‘things.’”
Typically drug court lasts between 18 and 24 months. A participant could remain in the program longer due to setbacks, such as failing drug tests or missing court, but Young finished the program in 13 to 14 months.
To enter the program participants have to agree to plead guilty to their cases. Almost 70 percent of participants successfully complete drug court.
When someone graduates, his or her charges are dismissed. But failure means prison.
In Cook County Judge Cuzzo presides over Cook County’s Substance Abuse Recovery Court (or a hybrid court as Cook County attorney Molly Hicken calls it), that will deal with high risk, high need clients only; people that are drug or alcohol dependent and have been charged with DWI, drug possession, and other serious crimes.
To qualify, a potential participant must be a non-violent offender, have no prior gang or firearms related arrests and suffer from a substance abuse disorder that is driving criminal behavior. The district attorney’s office ultimately decides who gets in.
The program is collaborative between judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, treatment providers, probation officers, law enforcement, and educational and vocational experts.
Drug courts aren’t new. They have been extensively studied and conclusively found to reduce recidivism, save significant amounts of taxpayer money by keeping offenders sober and out of incarceration, and change lives for the better.
Addiction is the underlying issue in about 75 percent of all criminal cases in the state, and drug court is more transformational than prison.
In many states the criminal justice system is increasingly recognizing that substance use disorder is a disease and like most diseases, addiction can be treated effectively and recovery is possible through systems like drug court.
Drug court worked for Tom Young.
Two other people were in the courtroom on Monday, one young man who is on his fourth step in drug court and one young lady fairly new to the program. Judge Cuzzo had kind words for each.
He noted the young lady had a slip up and missed a UA appointment, but had owned up to her mistake. He told her if she was having trouble and needed to talk to someone that someone was sitting right behind her. Young smiled and nodded his head; Marcie, who was standing on the bench turned around and whispered to the audience, “Pretty soon there’s going to be cake for my daddy!”
The celebration did indeed end, with cake and coffee. A great way to begin again.
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