Roosevelt University researcher and her students worked behind scenes for passage of new state law

Posted: 02/08/2012

Kathleen Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University, predicted Tuesday that deaths from drug overdoses in Illinois will decline thanks to a new state law, the Emergency Medical Services Access Act, which was signed on Monday by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

“The number one reason why folks don’t call 911 is the fear of police and prosecution,” said Kane-Willis, who has been advocating with grassroots organizers since 2010 for bi-partisan passage of the new law, which gives limited immunity from prosecution to those who call 911 or who seek medical treatment in a drug overdose situation.

The Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy released a study in 2010, which concluded there were more deaths from drug overdoses in Illinois than from car accidents. The study found increased heroin use statewide coupled with skyrocketing deaths related to overdoses – in some cases by more than 100 percent in suburban Lake, Will and McHenry countries from 2006-08.

With passage of the new law, Illinois becomes the fifth state in the nation (New Mexico, Washington, Connecticut and New York have approved similar legislation) to grant limited immunity to drug users who are overdosing and to those who reach out on behalf of a drug user in an overdose situation. The law protects individuals from prosecution when small amounts of most illegal substances are involved. It does not protect drug sellers or traffickers.

“This new law has national implications: The research shows that heroin use is increasing among young suburban users across the country - in states like New Jersey, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, among others,” said Kane-Willis. ”This is a wake-up call and opportunity for these states and many others to adopt legislation that can save lives due to drug overdoses.”

In Illinois, the grassroots coalition that worked for passage of the new law in 2010 and 2011 included parents who lost children to overdose, researchers, Roosevelt University students in Kane-Willis’ Drugs, Alcohol and Society class, Students for Sensible Drug Policy in Illinois and drug-treatment providers.

“We did background research and went down to Springfield to advocate for the new law,” said Clay Wallace, a Roosevelt graduate sociology major (pictured above) who was the teaching assistant for Drugs and Society. Wallace, a resident of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, enlisted the support of his state representative, Democrat Barbara Flynn Currie, who co-sponsored the Emergency Medical Services Access Act.

“This was democracy in the making, and it showed me that lawmakers are willing to look at things on a practical level. The bottom line is no one wants people to die from a drug overdose and our lawmakers understood that,” he said.

“I hope this new law will someday be remembered as the first in a series of policy reforms that helped lead to a substantial reduction in the lives lost due to substance abuse,” said retired Chicago Police Captain John Roberts, a resident of Homer Glen in Will County, whose 19-year-old son died of a heroin overdose. Roberts is the founder of the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization (HERO) and a member of the broad-based coalition that worked behind the scenes for passage of the new law.

Another parent who lost a 21-year-old son to overdose, Karen Hanneman of Naperville, said she was ecstatic over passage of the new law. “Passing this law will significantly impact the number of lives lost to drug overdoses,” said Hanneman, who recruited the support of her state representative Tom Cross, House Republican leader, as well as State Rep. Darlene Senger of Naperville. ”Now we’ve got to get the word out – Don’t run. Call 911,” she said.

Other members of the coalition included the AIDS Foundation Chicago and many Chicago-area treatment providers.

The bill’s sponsor in the Illinois House, Representative Kelly Cassidy said “Simply put, this bill will save lives. I am thankful to the advocates who worked so hard for so many years to pass this bill. I am particularly grateful to the parents who shared the stories of their tragic losses to raise awareness and hopefully prevent others from enduring what they have."

For more information, contact Kathleen Kane-Willis at kkane@roosevelt.edu or Laura Janota at 312-341-3511.

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