Recovery center’s halfway house finds rare support among Belleville neighbors
Proposals to open group homes — whether they’re for people with developmental disabilities, drug addiction or juvenile delinquency — often face fierce opposition in residential neighborhoods.
But that didn’t happen with a plan by Eric Conley, CEO and founder of the Illinois Recovery Center, a private treatment facility in Swansea for alcoholism and substance abuse. He and his partners earned enough trust from neighbors and city officials to get quick approval for a halfway house on South 17th Street in Belleville.
No one spoke in opposition to the project at a Belleville Zoning Board of Appeals hearing or a Belleville City Council meeting this month. In fact, some neighbors spoke in favor of it.
“I just think (the partners) were very straightforward with us,” said Donald Cramer, 83, a retiree who has lived next door with his wife, Wanda, for 47 years. “That’s what convinced us.”
The Cramers also were happy to see the partners fully renovate the former apartment building, which had fallen into serious disrepair.
On Monday night, alderpersons voted 14-1 to issue a special-use permit allowing up to eight men who have completed inpatient programs at the Swansea center to live with a staff member in the building at 220 S. 17th St. while undergoing outpatient treatment.
A last-minute amendment stated that the occupancy limit could change after a city inspection of the 2,500-square-foot, two-story building.
Ward 2 Alderwoman Gigi Dowling Urban was absent from the meeting. The only “no” vote was Ward 4 Alderman Raffi Ovian. He later pointed to his negative experiences with group homes while working as an auditor in the insurance industry.
“I’m skeptical,” he said. “The screening part of it bothers me. A lot of times, if people aren’t screened extensively, you bring major problems into the community.”
The last time the City Council considered a group-home plan was in 2024, when two non-profit organizations asked to use a single-family residence on Hillwood Drive to house five young people enrolled in a vocational and life-skills training program.
Alderpersons voted 14-1 against granting a zoning variance following input from a packed crowd of opponents and supporters.
Dusty Hosna, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, said it’s not uncommon for neighbors to oppose group homes. He praised Conley and his partners for inviting people to tour their building in advance, explaining their program and answering questions.
“We encourage (permit) applicants to reach out to their public officials and their neighbors to get a conversation going, and they did that,” Hosna said. “They had overwhelming support.”
Founder struggled with heroin
Conley, 38, of Fairview Heights, said he grew up in a stable, happy family before sustaining a sports injury, getting hooked on painkillers, watching his mother die of breast cancer, suffering from depression, becoming a heroin addict, entering a Florida treatment facility and cleaning up 10 years ago.
Conley said that difficult chapter of his life made him passionate about helping others in similar circumstances.
“I’ve struggled, and I know how difficult it is to pick up the phone and call for help,” he said, noting that many communities don’t have treatment programs or other resources.
Conley became partners with his two brothers-in-law, Brian Wellen and Steve Campo. They opened the Illinois Recovery Center in 2023 in a vacant, multi-unit complex that formerly housed the Specialized Living Center, a residential facility for adults with developmental disabilities.
Today, Wellen works in the center’s business department. Campo owns a Fairview Heights car wash and serves as chairman of the Southwestern Illinois College Board of Trustees.
More than 1,500 people have gone through center programs – 200 of them on scholarship – according to Conley. Its 70 employees include a medical director, nurse practitioner and 12 nurses who provide health care and operate a detox unit. Others administer inpatient and outpatient treatment with counseling and other therapy.
“It’s a private-pay facility,” Campo said, noting that bad behavior isn’t tolerated. “They don’t just take anyone off the street.”
Conley said he knows of only four phone calls made to Swansea police from the center in nearly three years, with all requesting only police presence and none resulting in arrest.
Swansea Police Chief Matt Blomberg submitted a letter in support of the Belleville halfway house to city officials, stating that the Illinois Recovery Center had clearly articulated its mission and plans to the village and honored all of its commitments.
“They do this work the right way, for the right reasons,” he wrote. “They are saving lives and making a meaningful difference in our communities.”
Program helped mayor’s daughter
Swansea Mayor Jeff Parker also submitted a letter of support for the Belleville project. He praised the Illinois Recovery Center partners for fixing up a “rundown” complex of buildings, making it look “fabulous” and continuing to maintain it to high standards.
Parker, a former police officer and prison warden, stated that patients follow strict rules and regulations and don’t cause any problems for the village. He also credited Conley for saving his daughter’s life.
“She admitted about 675 days ago to a problem with alcohol and went through the 30-day In-House program,” Parker wrote. “I am happy to say that she is back to teaching and is a whole new person with a wonderful life again in front of her. I have my sweet daughter back thanks to IRC.”
Bringing families together is one of the center’s goals. That’s symbolized by its logo, which features a dragonfly, a favorite creature of the late Diane Conley, Eric Conley’s mother.
The partners bought the multifamily building on South 17th Street in Belleville last year for $45,000, according to St. Clair County parcel records. Today, it has nine bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Cramer, the next-door neighbor, said the building had been used for two other group homes by owners who didn’t maintain the property or supervise residents properly, leading to regular police visits.
The city had no certificate of occupancy for a group home on file, according to Hosna, the planning and zoning administrator.
“(The building) was in pretty rough shape,” he said.
In the past year, Conley and his partners have spent an estimated $200,000 on renovations. They also must demolish a dilapidated outbuilding as a requirement of the special-use permit.
When the brothers-in-law talked to neighbors and city officials about the project, they shared a list of rules for residents – mandatory employment, nightly curfews, no alcohol or other drug use, no women or other visitors and no congregating of any kind.
“We run a tight ship,” Conley said.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
