State’s Attorney Birkett Awards $10,400 in Drug Forfeiture Grants to Local Schools & Organizations

DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett announced today that his office has awarded twenty-five (25) grants to fund drug prevention programs in DuPage County.   The grants were awarded to area schools and organizations through the 2004 State’s Attorney’s Drug Forfeiture Grant Program.  This year’s grants totaled $10,400 and are derived from assets forfeited from area drug dealers as a result of the diligence of prosecutors in seeking forfeitures of cash and property in those cases.

State’s Attorney Birkett addressed a crowd of students, school administrators, parents, local organizations and municipal entities from throughout the county who had assembled to formally receive their grant awards. 

“The efforts to combat substance abuse should not and can not be confined to the criminal justice system,” State’s Attorney Birkett commented. “The centerpiece of an effective drug control strategy is drug free schools.  Education, prevention and intervention are essential components of that goal.   Through the State’s Attorney’s Drug Forfeiture Grant Program, we are able to take drug dealer’s money and use it to educate and help our children learn the dangers of substance abuse at an early age, giving them positive alternatives to the devastating life of drugs.”

The Drug Forfeiture Grant Program was initiated by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1990, and since that time has provided three hundred nineteen (319) grants to schools and organizations, serving thousands of children in DuPage County.   In that period, over $120,000 in grants have been distributed for drug prevention efforts throughout the county.

This year, fifty three (53) schools and organizations applied for grants from the program, each having a maximum award of $500.  The grants will be used to provide financial assistance for programs such as Red Ribbon and Character Counts, provide scholarships for low income or high risk students to attend drug prevention programs as well as subsidize other drug prevention curriculum.

"The importance of these programs has been magnified with the increase in heroin usage by young people as well as the presence of “club drugs” such as GHB and Ecstasy,” Birkett noted.  “Education and awareness of these dangerous substances are our first line of defense.”

The law provides for the forfeiture of certain assets used by drug dealers or assets purchased with drug monies.   Proceeds from the sale of these assets get divided amongst all law enforcement agencies that played a role in the case (i.e. police, departments, fire departments, FBI, DEA, prosecutors, etc.)  The Narcotics Unit of the State’s Attorney’s Office is run in part with funds garnered as a result of these forfeitures.  In addition, a portion of that forfeited money is used to assist in the funding of drug prevention programs through the State’s Attorney’s Drug Forfeiture Grant Program. 

State’s Attorney Birkett announced the following twenty five (25) recipients of the 2004 State’s Attorney’s Drug Forfeiture Program: Bartlett High School, Bartlett; Bartlett Park District, Bartlett; Burr Ridge Middle School, Burr Ridge; Churchville Middle School, Elmhurst; Community Consolidated School District 93 (District-wide Mentorship Program), Carol Stream; Community Consolidated School District 93 (District-wide Parent Program), Carol Stream; School District #202, Lisle; Driscoll Catholic High School, Addison; Elmhurst Police Department D.A.R.E. Program, Elmhurst; Glenbard East High School, Lombard; Glenbard South High School, Glen Ellyn; Glen Hill Primary School, Glendale Heights; Gregory Middle School, Naperville; Heritage Lakes School, Carol Stream; Holy Ghost School, Wood Dale; Itasca School District #10, Itasca; Jefferson Junior High School, Woodridge; Johnson School, Warrenville; J.T. Manning Elementary School, Westmont; Marquardt Middle School, Glendale Heights; Notre Dame School, Clarendon Hills; Peacock Middle School, Itasca; West Chicago Community High School, West Chicago; Whittier School, Downers Grove; and Winfield School District #34, Winfield.

A more detailed description of any of the above-listed programs is available upon request.  In addition, photographs of the grant recipients with State’s Attorney Birkett will be available shortly.