Kane County specialty court participants’ art to be on display

The artwork of participants in Kane County’s four specialty courts – Adult Drug Court, DUI Court, Treatment Alternative Court and Veterans Court– will be on display to the public from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 16 in the Jury Lounge on the first floor of the Judicial Center, 37W777 Illinois Route 38, St. Charles.

DUI Treatment Court and Veterans Court Coordinator Philip Wessel said the artwork is part of participants’ recovery work,

“One of my guys is into woodworking and he built a guitar – from scratch – and painted it,” Wessel said. “There’s other people who have poems, inspirational stories, some did vision boards with actual pictures and drawings. There’s a lot of different things here.”

Not everyone is an artist, but every one can use art to convey feelings and emotions, and document their recovery journey, Wessel said.

“The real value comes from the way art can help everyone in different ways,” Wessel said. “All those things continue to help people on their road to recovery from mental illness or substance abuse.”

For those who might think the specialty courts are too expensive, Wessel said the national statistics show that every dollar spent on a specialty court saves $9 from that person continuing in the criminal justice system.

“It’s impossible to totally calculate it...I wish people would understand that a little better,” Wessel said.

Because the person who commits a crime and enters the criminal justice system is attached to many other people, helping that person also helps the others to whom they are attached, Wessel said.

“These people are human beings, too. They have family members,” Wessel said. “Helping one person potentially helps their kids and the other people that live with them.”