Opioids

The county will take proposals that award a maximum of $50,000 to each fire protection district.

Some Central Illinois lawmakers are pushing for harsher punishments for selling fentanyl as the state sees a decline in opioid deaths.

In all, 3,502 people died from an overdose in Illinois in 2023, which is 317 fewer than in 2022, data show.

Illinois will receive a $40 million share of a $1.4 billion bipartisan national settlement with Kroger over the grocery chain’s role in the opioid crisis, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced.

The settlement is part of a national agreement announced last year. The grocery chain will pay a total of $1.37 billion to settle claims by 30 states related to the opioid crisis.

The McLean County Health Department just installed its free Narcan dispenser, making it the second place in town to offer a vending-style option for the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen said a bipartisan bill he's co-sponsoring to reduce fentanyl smuggling at the southern border would also help suppress gun smuggling.

Chestnut Health Systems and the McLean County Health Department have invested in vending machines that will freely dispense the overdose reversal medication Narcan, and the county recently started making payments to Chestnut for a contracted opioid prevention coordinator.

Previously, the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council [BHCC] — an ad hoc committee composed largely of mental health experts in the area — made spending proposals. The McLean County Board's Executive Committee approved an ordinance Monday to make the group an independent body, stripping members of that authority.

Experts say it’s no longer any one group that needs to have Narcan on hand. Everyone should.