Political Quotes

“Substance abuse continues to claim victims, destroy families, and eat away at communities. Today, many communities in Illinois and across the country are struggling with the methamphetamine epidemic. Drug treatment centers in Illinois report an explosion in the number of people entering treatment for meth addiction. Public drug treatment providers have seen a 73 percent increase in meth treatment admissions in the last decade. Meth is having a particularly dire effect on families, tearing them apart and overwhelming our child welfare network. In 2004, more than half of the children entering foster care in some areas of rural southeastern Illinois were forced into the program because their caretakers were meth abusers. Meth use among adult women has very real and tragic implications for child safety, foster care, and family breakups. It is the stories of these mothers that paint the real picture of the disease of addiction.”