Thread by @ReportingHealth

The police knew. The prosecutors knew. The judges knew. Nobody stopped it. In Chicago, thousands of drug possession charges are routinely tossed, but not before those arrested sometimes spend weeks in jail, often with life-changing consequences. #THREAD
chicago.suntimes.com/2021/11/26/226…

2/ w/support from @ReportingHealth, the @Suntimes and @BetterGov collaborated to investigate the seemingly unending churn of low-level drug possession arrests that clog courts, cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, and leave those arrested often jailed, jobless and homeless

3/ Half of Chicago's 140,000 drug possession cases between 2000 and 2018 were dropped at their earliest stages. They are dead-end arrests that prosecutors choose not to pursue in court when possession is a user-amount, usually about a gram - less than the weight of a paperclip.

4/ Despite that, in Illinois, its police officers - not prosecutors - who decide when to pursue felony charges for drug offenses. It results in a de facto catch-and-release system for low-level drug offenders that @SAKimFoxx calls “a colossal waste.”

5/Here’s what Alex, who has been arrested for drug possession and had his charges dismissed, has to say about it.

6/ Locking someone up is expensive — even briefly — for having small amounts of drugs. Between 2013 & 2018, it cost Cook County taxpayers $100M to jail low-level drug offenders, not including medical care, reports @FrankMainNews, @ctoner & @JaredRutecki. bettergov.org/news/the-costl…

7/ The unwritten law wrecks lives. Dan Galloway is one such example. The result of his arrest? A stay in a halfway house, jail time, the loss of his job and six months income and a felony on his record, all for an amount of heroin he describes as “dust.”

8/ It’s not this way everywhere. Other states have lowered the penalties for narcotics - but not Illinois.

9/But top law enforcement officers in Chicago are critical of attempts to decriminalize possession. Nick Rotl, a former CPD organized crime bureau chief, says it would benefit drug dealers, but admits that substance use disorder needs to be handled as a health condition.

10/ Others, like @ACLUofIL Attorney Ben Ruddell, says that the current system is broken. He’s the architect of a recent bill making possession of under three grams of heroin or methamphetamine and under five grams of cocaine a misdemeanor.

11/ If Dan Galloway were stopped by police in Oregon, he wouldn’t have faced charges. That’s because the state passed a law - the first in the nation - making possession of small amounts of drugs into the equivalent of a minor traffic infraction. chicago.suntimes.com/2021/11/30/226…

12/ The law, passed by voters in November 2020 and enacted in February, funnels $100 million annually in marijuana tax revenue to drug treatment programs and creates a pipeline for those ticketed to get help.

13/The measure was supported by Deschutes County DA John Hammel. He created a diversion program prior to the measure passing called Clean Slate to keep people who use drugs out of jail. Those at low risk of getting rearrested are freed w/o charges and pointed to health services.

14/Michelle Tobin was one person who benefitted from Clean Slate. Her story runs counter to Galloway’s in Chicago. Police found a pipe with meth residue and were prepared to arrest her last year. She was instead sent to Clean Slate. Charges weren’t filed. She got to keep her job.

Read the full series. Part I chicago.suntimes.com/2021/11/26/226…

Part II: chicago.suntimes.com/2021/11/30/226…

Liked this thread? Join the reporters Dec. 8 for a panel discussion with @KathieKaneW, Benny Lee of Nat'l Alliance for the Empowerment of the Formerly Incarcerated, Era Laudermilk of Cook County Public Defender's Office and Ben Ruddell of @ACLUofIL.

eventbrite.com/e/unwritten-ru…