South Cook News

The Mayor of Orland Park voiced his concerns about the increased use of opioids such as fentanyl.

“Teen overdose deaths spiked in 2020 and 2021, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association,” Mayor Kieth Pekau wrote on Facebook. “The deaths are not a result of more experimentation with drugs: Federal data show that overall teen drug use has been falling. These deaths are a result of a rise in synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.”

The Chicago Crusader reported Illinois is getting $760 million from opioid drug marketers Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. It added that Governor J.B. Pritzker is forming an advisory board to figure out spending the money.

Approximately 1,840 people died from opioid overdoses in Cook County in 2020, while the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office estimated that the number of people who died from opioid overdoses in 2021 was more than 2,100, according to a press release. Nationwide, more than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses between May 2020 and April 2021, representing a 29% increase from the previous 12-month period.

“Opioid addiction and deaths have permeated all segments of our society,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “And just as this problem is extremely complex and multifaceted, so must be our approach to solving it.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health noted approximately 11,000 Illinoisians died from opioid overdoses since 2008. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) gave Cook County $2.6 million to address the opioid crisis through Project Rapid Engagement and Access at Cook County Health for Opioid Use Treatment (REACCH-OUT). The program will fund treatment for people with opioid addictions and other substance abuse issues.

Illinois has the Illinois Opioid Action Plan that’ll focus on: prevention, ending the spread of the crisis; treatment and recovery, providing evidence-based support for users of opioids; and response, ending deaths from overdoses.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of stress and isolation for many people, exacerbating mental health challenges and substance use disorders,” Israel Rocha Jr., CEO of Cook County Health, said. “We are committed to expanding access to substance use treatment, providing the care people need where and when they need it. This grant from SAMHSA will assist our dedicated team of health care providers to bring these much-needed services to some of the most vulnerable communities in Cook County.”

ABC 7 Chicago reported Governor J.B. Pritzker is also focusing on how the opioid crisis impacts communities of color.

In 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized 10,586 pounds of fentanyl at the Southwest U.S. border– in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California– or 132 percent over the 4,558 pounds of fentanyl seized in 2020.

“If we really want to save peoples’ lives, we can’t wait until Emergency Medical Services arrive at the overdose scene,” Joe Feinglass, research professor of medicine and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said on the university’s website.

Pekau won the Republican nomination for Illinois' 6th Congressional House seat in June and will face off against incumbent Democrat Sean Casten in the November general election, according to Ballotpedia.