Lake County Overdose Deaths Up in 2020, Following Nationwide Trend

Tim Vander Tuuk, WLIP News (7-16-21)

(Waukegan, IL)  While overdose deaths hit a record across the country in 2020, those same types of deaths were up in Lake County. Government officials reported this week that OD deaths reached 93-thousand across the United States in 2020, a 29% increase over 2019 numbers. Lake County Coroner’s officials say 2020 brought about 124 local overdose deaths, up 30 from 2019. Of those 124, opiates were said to be responsible for 100. Coroner’s officials say through May of this year, there had already been 54 overdose deaths, 38 of which were opioid related.