Pubdate: Wed, 22 Aug 2012
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2012 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Authors: Monique Garcia and Hal Dardick

PRECKWINKLE REGRETS REAGAN STATEMENT

CHAMPAIGN - Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Tuesday 
said former President Ronald Reagan deserves "a special place in 
hell" for his role in the war on drugs, but later she regretted what 
she called her "inflammatory" remark.

The comment from Preckwinkle, known more for a reserved, 
straight-ahead political style, came at a conference led by former 
Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who's now at the University of Illinois 
Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

Preckwinkle was defending the recent move by the city of Chicago to 
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by allowing 
police to write tickets, saying out-of-whack drug laws unfairly lead 
to more minorities behind bars.

Downstate Republican state Rep. Chapin Rose of Mahomet questioned 
whether such an approach includes drug treatment for those who are 
ticketed. Preckwinkle said no, arguing that drug treatment should be 
part of the health care system, not criminal justice. She said Reagan 
deserves a "special place in hell" for his involvement in "making 
drug use political."

"What? You didn't like that?" Preckwinkle said after audience members gasped.

The comment about Reagan, a Republican icon born in Illinois who died 
in 2004, drew criticism.

"I think it was a really unfortunate choice of words to speak of one 
of the most revered presidents of the 20th century in that manner," 
said county Commissioner Timothy Schneider, R-Streamwood.

Schneider credited Preckwinkle with a bipartisan approach on the 
County Board but said, "Heated rhetoric like that can further divide 
people, as opposed to bring people together."

Hours later, Preckwinkle issued a statement saying she regretted the 
Reagan comment. The South Side Democrat said she was trying to make 
the point that substance abuse should be treated as a health crisis, 
not a criminal problem.

While President Richard Nixon is generally credited with starting the 
war on drugs, critics contend Reagan ramped up the issue for 
political purposes during the 1980s.

"Ronald Reagan wasn't the first or the last, but he was certainly the 
most prominent at the very beginning," Preckwinkle told the Tribune 
in a phone interview.

The resulting policies have had the effect of sending young 
African-Americans and Latinos to jail and prison in disproportionate 
numbers, she said. They also have driven up government costs and 
damaged communities, she said.

"Drug policy in this country has been in the wrong direction for 30 
years," she said. "I think that's something they should acknowledge. 
If I had it to do over again, I certainly wouldn't say anything quite 
so inflammatory. But my position basically remains the same."

Preckwinkle was speaking at a luncheon titled "The Opportunities and 
Responsibilities of Public Service" on one of several panels taking 
place as part of the Edgar Fellows program, which aims to foster 
cooperation among policymakers of different parties and backgrounds.

Tribune reporter Hal Dardick contributed from Chicago.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom