DuPage County Veterans Court

The 18th Judicial Circuit runs the DuPage County Veterans Court under 730 ILCS 167; see the Illinois entry. It is a court-supervised programme for veterans charged with a criminal offense, addressing treatment needs such as mental health, substance use, anger management or intimate partner violence. Who. An applicant must be 18 or older, a citizen or legal resident, have a substance use disorder or mental health diagnosis (or be diagnosed in the assessment), be willing to take part in all treatment, accept a zero-tolerance rule on alcohol, cannabis and non-prescribed drugs, and plead guilty under a contract whose disposition on success the State's Attorney and defence agree. Other cases in DuPage and elsewhere must be resolved first. Excluded: a dishonorable discharge, and a crime of violence in the past five years, not counting time in custody, using the act's list. Unlike Will County's ten-year rule, that is the State act's own look-back. How to apply. The defence lawyer files the Veterans Court application in court with a return date at least three weeks out (Fridays, courtroom 4001) and the applicant gives the application packet to probation. If the coordinator finds the applicant eligible, a probation screening and a Health Department clinical assessment follow, the team decides at the Thursday staffing before the next court date, and the State prepares a contract. A participant who fails is sentenced on the original charge. Mentors. Veteran volunteers mentor participants. In January 2026 the County Board approved a grant-funded Veteran Mentor Coordinator, through September 30, 2026, to build the peer mentor programme. Contact. Program Coordinator Bernadine Howard, 630-407-8450 ([email protected]). Judge Paul Marchese presides.