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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A HEARING OF THE LEGISLATION AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS OPIATE/HEROIN ADDICTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND HEALTH SYSTEMS
WHEREAS, the opiate/heroin crisis in Illinois calls for practical public health and public safety solutions, including broad-based and coordinated prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies, and
WHEREAS, Cook County, as with the whole region, has a growing opiate/heroin addiction problem;
WHEREAS, opiate/heroin addiction costs Cook County millions of dollars in healthcare and public safety spending yearly; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Corrections processes 200-300 individuals per day, houses over 8,000 detainees at any given time, and sees more than 100,000 admissions per year; and
WHEREAS, seventy-four percent (74%) of these detainees screen positive for various types of drug use, and
WHEREAS, the Cermak Health Services manages over 500 opiate/heroin detoxes a month; and
WHEREAS, many detainees have multiple opiate/heroin detoxes in a year after multiple admissions; and
WHERAS, the Cook County Health and Hospital System treats opiate/heroin addiction cases on a daily bases; and
WHEREAS, Cook County as a leader in healthcare and public safety can establish cost effective treatments for opiate addiction; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1, which was recently introduced in the Illinois General Assembly, is the result of a statewide legislative task force that has studied opiate/heroin addiction and treatment options; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1 would require increased resources and training for responding to opiate/heroin overdoses and addiction; and
WHEREAS, there are a number of methods to treat opiate/heroin addiction including FDA-approved medications to those with opiate/heroin addiction; and
WHEREAS, a variety of behavioral therapies can be effective at treating opiate/heroin addiction when combined w...
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