New Lenox Officials Look to Alter its Policy on How it Handles Drug Users

The Village of New Lenox is looking to alter its policy on how it handles drug users by focusing on rehabilitation rather than arrest, Mayor Tim Baldermann announced at the Village Board meeting Monday night. With a growing heroin epidemic, New Lenox will be following examples of police departments around the country that have established policies that will allow drug addicts to dispose of their drugs voluntarily to law enforcement without fear of imprisonment and in an effort to seek treatment.

"To just incarcerate an addict is doing nothing," said Baldermann, adding that addiction is a medical condition that "impacts every race, every socioeconomic group."

He told the board that he and Police Chief Bob Sterba have been working on "doing something more proactive" and will soon come to the board with some policy changes.

Baldermann and Sterba cited Monday night recent statistics from Will County on the drug problem. Of 384 overdose deaths in Will County since 2011, 220 have been caused by heroin use. Thirteen of those heroin overdoses were in New Lenox.

"New Lenox accounts for about 3.5 percent of the Will County population but accounts for 6 percent of heroin overdose deaths since 2011," Sterba said.

Last year, of 91 overdose deaths, 53 were from heroin use, two of which occurred in the New Lenox Police Department's jurisdiction, according to information provided by Sterba.

Here is the Village of New Lenox Board Meeting broadcasted by New Lenox Community TV - Channel 6:

There has been a staggering number of cases this year in Will County, with a dozen heroin overdose deaths and a dozen accidental overdoses due to heroin intoxication, according to a 2016 Will County Overdose Statistic Report.

In an effort to crack down on the heroin epidemic, State Representative Lou Lang will outline the new Heroin Crisis Act at the 2016 HERO-HELPS-Southwest Coalition Community Summit slated for April 29 at the Edward Hospital Athletic and Event Center in Romeoville.

The new law has requirements for the disposal of unused prescription drugs, changes in insurance coverage for treatment, new requirements for state recording of drug overdose cases, and over the counter dispensing of Narcan, a potent antidote that can reverse the effects of heroin overdose.

“Illinois has become ground zero in the national crisis of heroin and opiod abuse,” Lang said. “The bill we passed last year, over the veto of the Governor, is groundbreaking legislation that will serve as a national model to combat this deepening tragedy. We must implement this new law to its fullest to save lives and to educate. We must enlist all willing hands to pitch in and make this work.”

This is the fifth year of this event which has brought attention to the issue of heroin and prescription drug abuse across Will County, the state of Illinois, and the entire nation.

For more information, visit the website: www.herohelpsevent.com.