"Drug addiction is a serious public-health and criminal-justice issue. Changing how Illinois deals with drug addicts – by diverting them to alternative programs instead of defaulting to incarceration – increases the likelihood that these offenders won’t end up back in the system. Such reforms also save taxpayers money.
One such program that already exists in Illinois is Adult Redeploy. This program provides funding incentives for counties to create alternative programs, such as drug or mental-health treatment, where nonviolent offenders can receive targeted care instead of going to state prison.
The rationale behind Adult Redeploy is straightforward: By investing money in community corrections programs that treat the drug or mental-health challenges of prospective inmates, the state can avoid more costly expenditures on prison."
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