Illinois Priority Topic Investments
Click on any of the tabs below to learn more about each topic.
Illinois Overdose Investment Snapshot
Combatting the current overdose crisis is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) overdose investments for the state of Illinois.
There were 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020 (28.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a stark 30% increase from 2019. Approximately 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid, with synthetic opioids (e.g., illicitly manufactured fentanyls) accounting for more than 80% of all opioid-involved deaths. Drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased by 55% and deaths involving psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine) increased by 47% from 2019 to 2020. Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also increased by 22%.
In 2020 in Illinois there were:
3,549
overdose deaths
28.1
overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths
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Overdose Data to Action (OD2A)
Public Health and Public Safety
Research
*average award amount |
Examples of How Illinois Is Working to Prevent Overdose
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Linkage to care during COVID-19 pandemic
During the Illinois stay-at-home order, funded community-based organizations used innovative strategies to continue connecting individuals to substance use disorder services. From March 2020 – March 2021, the agencies served over 6,000 individuals with overdose prevention education, linkage to harm reduction services and treatment, and overdose reversals. |
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Innovative technology
Illinois is collaborating with the City of Chicago Public Health Department and the Chicago Recovery Alliance, a community-based organization, to implement innovative technologies to identify trends, quantify the composition of drug samples in the Chicago area, and better track the illicit opioid drug supply. |
CDC Overdose Prevention Strategies
CDC’s Injury Center plays a critical role in addressing the drug overdose epidemic by driving progress in the five strategic priorities that guide CDC’s response framework for preventing overdoses.
