WBGZ Radio 4/27/2021 |
By Kevin Bessler - Illinois Radio Network
With a spike in opioid overdoses and suicides in Illinois, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and a panel of health experts addressed the crisis and available funding to address the problems.
In 2020, more than 2,800 Illinois deaths could be attributed to opioids, a 30% increase over 2019. The highest death rate is among Black Illinoisans, through Hispanic residents saw the largest increase.
“Like the coronavirus, mental illness and addiction can occur in any family, any neighborhood and almost anytime,” said Durbin.
Dr. Tom Britton, CEO of the Gateway Foundation, said many factors can lead to drug abuse and mental health issues.
St. Louis Public Radio
Illinois took in nearly $200 million in tax revenue from the first year of legal marijuana sales. The state s legalization law requires 25% of that money go to communities disproportionally harmed by the failed war on drugs.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the
Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
Illinois generated more than $175 million in tax revenue from
recreational marijuana sales in 2020, and a chunk of that money will go to communities hit hardest by gun violence and disproportionate prosecution for low-level pot crimes.
The state announced $31.5 million in a first wave of grants for 80 nonprofit organizations and government bodies earlier this year as part of the Restore, Reinvest and Renew, or R3, Program. The program was built into Illinois’ recreational marijuana law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2019.
RIPPING OPEN OLD WOUNDS — WELCH S MONUMENTAL TASK — OBAMA CENTER SUED AGAIN politico.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from politico.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Election season is carnival season in Illinois. The clowns may look different but they re clowns nevertheless.
But some clown costumes are cut from a different cloth. The latest iteration has a blue collar starched stiff, though and is dusted in dirt. He goes by the name “Ditchdigger,” in fact.
I m serious. That s what they call him.
Rabine looks like a classy everyday clown with working-man
bona fides a self-made millionaire who worked his way up to CEO status. He s very much what Republicans looks for: a happily married guy with little kids, a church-going Christian that goes for the “traditional” stuff preachers amp up, and for more than four years, has been an uber-booster for Trump and his Tweetdeck style of running things.
Illinois Health Care Reform Bill Headed For Gov Pritzker s Desk – InsuranceNewsNet insurancenewsnet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insurancenewsnet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.