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Casey Toner
Reporter
Casey Toner is a journalist for the Better Government Association in Chicago. He previously worked as a reporter for the Daily Southtown and the Alabama Media Group.
Articles
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The change follows a Sun-Times/Better Government Association investigation last year that documented the impact of “dead end” drug arrests in which people are briefly locked up, only to see the charges soon dismissed.
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In Chicago, police routinely arrest people for possession of small quantities of drugs knowing the charges won’t stick. But the arrests have real consequences.
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Topics
In Chicago, thousands of drug possession arrests are routinely tossed out every year. The cost to taxpayers? Millions. To those arrested? The loss of jobs, housing, freedom.
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The Cook County state’s attorney recently learned her former physical trainer is addicted to heroin and has been in and out of jail for it.
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That state’s new drug reform is keeping users out of jail — but getting them help for addictions has been elusive.
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The BGA and Chicago Sun-Times analyzed 280,000 total drug possession arrests made in Cook County over nearly two decades. The data used was provided by The Circuit, the collaborative journalistic enterprise led by the BGA and Injustice Watch.
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State law targets drug users, jamming courts with throwaway cases that burden justice system and users. A new reporting project digs into the story.