September 2017
The United States is in the middle of the deadliest drug crisis in our history. In Illinois and across the country, opioids are claiming more and more lives by the day. Fueled by the growing opioid epidemic, drug overdoses have now become the leading cause of death nationwide for people under the age of 50. In Illinois, opioid overdoses have killed nearly 11,000 people since 2008. Just last year, nearly 1,900 people died of overdoses—almost twice the number of fatal car accidents. Beyond these deaths are thousands of emergency department visits, hospital stays, as well as the pain suffered by individuals, families, and communities. The opioid epidemic is the most significant public health and public safety crisis facing Illinois.
The Illinois Opioid Action Plan presents the State of Illinois’ collective call to action. The opioid crisis affects everyone in the state in some way. Its victims are of all ages, races, and walks of life. The causes of the epidemic are complex, and state government must work with everyone—health care providers, local agencies, law enforcement, community groups, individual citizens, and national partners—toward a solution.
The focus of our efforts is to save lives. At the current rate, the opioid epidemic will claim the lives of more than 2,700 Illinoisans in 2020. We must take action to halt this explosive growth. Our goal is to reduce the number of projected deaths in 2020 by a third.
