Advocates for affordable and effective addiction treatment in Illinois are petitioning to make accessible treatment a referendum.

Volunteers for the Drug and Substance Abuse Advisory Council will be stationed outside polling locations on March 16 to look for one million voters’ signatures on a petition to make its proposal a November referendum.

Tumia Romero, director of Public Policy and Programs for Chicago Congressman Danny K. Davis, says the Treatment on Demand advisory referendum poses the question of whether the state of Illinois should make affordable and effective addiction treatment available.

The referendum allows Illinois residents to decide whether they would like the state’s government to make the issue a priority.

The purpose of the referendum is to educate citizens about addiction problems in the state and to raise awareness so resources for the movement will increase, Romero said.

The advisory council has done research for three years and found a majority of people want more addiction treatment available.

“Eighty-five percent of the voting population wants it,” Romero said.

To make it on the ballot, the referendum needs 283,000 signatures on a petition, which is 8 percent of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, Romero said. Davis’ office is looking for one million signatures to emphasize the great demand for accessible addiction treatment.

Mike Flora, director of the Ben Gordon Center, a local organization located at 12 Health Services Drive that provides mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment, does not see proof of Illinois’ dedication to health care.

Illinois is ranked 43rd in the nation for per capita spending on health care, Flora said.

Jerry Lane, DeKalb County mental health director, said although the goal is good, he doesn’t think it’s realistic that the state would provide comprehensive care to all substance abusers.

Officials are concerned with the amount of money the state is spending to lock up substance abusers.

“It is cheaper to treat people – even if you have to treat them four or five times – than to incarcerate them,” Lane said.

It costs $14,000 more to jail an individual than it does to treat him or her, Romero said.

Of the current inmate population, 25 percent are jailed on charges of non-violent, drug-related crimes.

Addiction treatment would help reduce crime and therefore, the need to jail so many people, Romero said.

Cook County has 800,000 substance-abusing residents, Romero said. Every year, 200,000 substance abusers who would like treatment are turned away because of a lack in resources.

Romero said she was unsure how much it would cost to provide treatment to everyone needing it. Even those with insurance are not guaranteed coverage that includes addiction treatment.

“We are just suggesting that care should be provided if they want it,” Romero said.