09.08.11

Durbin Announces More Than $600,000 in DOJ Funding for Illinois Judiciary Programs

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently awarded a total of $652,570 in grants to support the enhancement of two Illinois programs that seek to provide representation for potentially wrongly convicted defendants and to provide better services through drug treatment courts.

 

The following Illinois entities and programs will receive funding:

 

  • Northwestern University, Evanston, IL: $202,879 in funding has been awarded to the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University to improve the program’s ability to investigate and represent potentially wrongfully convicted defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence.  The grant enables the Center to increase case budgets, allowing for private investigators and expert witnesses to be hired.  Backlogged cases will have a better opportunity for review as a result of this grant; and

 

  • DuPage County, Illinois: $199,691 in funding has been awarded to the DuPage County Judiciary to improve drug treatment courts that effectively integrate a series of services for nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders.  The funds will be used to establish new assistance for target populations not currently being served, enhance existing court operations, expand court services and improve the quality and intensity of the support system.  Provided services include healthcare and mental healthcare, education, vocational and job training, job and housing placement assistance, and childcare or other family support services for each adult participant who requires such services.  This grant comes as part of the Department of Justice’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program, which is designed to develop and implement drug treatment courts for jurisdictions to incorporate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting.