Opposition Mounts As Wheaton Drug Treatment Center Vote Looms

WHEATON, IL — The reasons why may differ, but a large number of Wheaton residents have made it clear that they oppose plans for a drug treatment facility in their city. The proposal will be brought up at Tuesday's city council meeting and residents are expected to address ongoing concerns about property values, public safety, and village codes.

In the past few months, village officials have received more than 1,100 emails in opposition to Haymarket Center's proposed rehabilitation facility, WBBM Newsradio reports. The facility would offer outpatient services, but it would also include a 16-bed inpatient facility.

The center's proposed site would be about 400 feet from KinderCare, a daycare and early childhood education facility. Many residents cite this proximity as part of their opposition.

Some residents also raised concerns that Haymarket Center's proposed residential segment would serve patients who are bussed in from Cook County Jail to receive court-ordered treatments. Haymarket offers various alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders with drug-related offenses.

Dr. Dan Lustig, CEO of Haymarket Center told WBBM Newsradio the Wheaton treatment center would be built to treat patients in DuPage County. They added that he believes "it wouldn’t make sense to send patients from Cook when Haymarket already operates a 400-bed facility in Chicago."

In an email to Patch, Wheaton resident Angela Welker addressed the community's concern that the proposed site is in a commercial district and would require officials to change the village code to include language to allow a residential facility in a commercial zone.

"Many people in our community work in healthcare and social services and would absolutely applaud additional treatment providers. The problem here is that they are attempting to create a new law and it is too vague to protect our community."

Lustig sees a different issue, given the overwhelming resistance from residents to the facility, which would occupy a former medical office. He told WBBM, "There isn't a difference in how we treat medical disorders except that this disorder has a lot of shame and stigma attached to it and that is what's running the day right now."

A number of Wheaton residents and DuPage County officials, see the idea of a drug treatment center as a necessary step to combat what has become an increasingly severe problem in DuPage County. Statistics show that more than 75 people died of an opioid overdose in the county in 2016.

The city's planning and zoning committee will hear all sides of the Haymarket Center proposal —and may take a vote— Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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