Intervention in Lieu of Conviction or ILC is a program in which an eligible offender charged with a low-level non-violent felony offense, who committed the offense due to drug or alcohol usage or mental illness or intellectual disability, has the opportunity to obtain a dismissal of the charge(s) after completing court-ordered treatment. This is a huge opportunity for a person be rehabilitated, without having the stigma and complications resulting from a felony conviction.
Originally, ILC was limited to first-time offenders. Through a series of amendments to the statute, ILC was made available to offenders with a prior non-violent felony conviction, but only if participation was recommended by the prosecuting attorney. As you would expect, recommendations from the prosecuting attorney were often few and far between. Furthermore, offenders who have already “been through” ILC in the past were ineligible to participate in ILC again in a subsequent case.