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PROPOSED GRANT AWARD
Department: Medical Examiner
Grantee: Cook County Medical Examiner
Grantor: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Request: Authorization to accept grant
Purpose: To assist with the Medical Examiner’s forensic toxicological testing services.
Grant Amount: $153,780.00
Grant Period: 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2021
Fiscal Impact: FY21 - $153,780.00.
Accounts: N/A
Concurrences:
The Budget Department has received all requisite documents and determined the fiscal impact on Cook County, if any.
Summary: The CCMEO requests $153,780 in grant funds to assist the institute with financing outsourced expanded panel toxicology testing for the surge in drug-related (opioid) deaths examined at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. It is impossible for the CCMEO to predict the number of yearly cases to be examined at the office (as has occurred with the unprecedented case numbers in 2020 during the COVID epidemic), the number of cases requiring toxicology testing, or the number of overdose deaths to be triaged in any given year. Grant funds received by the institute would enable the CCMEO to comply with the office’s predetermined yearly budget for laboratory testing despite the potential of increased case volumes occurring due to overdose deaths within the community.
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