DuPage County to spend opioid settlement money on treatment facilities; families of victims call for a vote
CHICAGO (CBS) – A landmark lawsuit will bring $760 million dollars into the state of Illinois to combat the opioid crisis in hopes of breaking the cycle of addiction and saving lives.
How will that money be spent? CBS 2's Marissa Perlman found out where those settlement dollars are going.
In February, the three largest drug distributers and drug maker, Johnson & Johnson, agreed to pay that $26 billion settlement that claims they helped fuel the opioid epidemic across the country.
That money is finally trickling into communities across the state this week, and now we know how those dollars will be spent. And some families of victims from this epidemic say the money should go elsewhere.
"We buried john on what would have been his 23rd birthday."
Kathy and Robb Zander is just one of the parents in DuPage who've lost a child in the opioid crisis.
"People don't understand when you lose a child you lose half of you," she said.
They lost their son, John, in 2016 when he took a drug laced with Fentanyl and died instantly. Since then, they've been fighting to bring awareness about the crisis.
"Most of the experience that we've had in DuPage County is that it's not happening here until it happens to you," Robb said.
In February, the three largest drug distributers and Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay a $26 billion settlement that says they helped fuel the crisis across the country.
The state of Illinois will get $760 million -- 25 percent of which will go to local governments in DuPage County. The health department will get $10 million.
"It's been a terrible impact in DuPage County in terms of the number of people dying," said State's Attorney Bob Berlin.
In DuPage County there have been 214 opioid related deaths since 2020. State documents show a large chunk of the money here in Illinois will go to funding medication assisted treatment and opioid reversal drugs. Think: Narcan, Naloxone Methadone, and Suboxone treatment facilities -- a strategy that doesn't sit well with the Zanders as families won't see a dime from that lawsuit.
"You're basically just swapping the one for the other in a legalized form so the money is going from big pharma right back to big pharma," Robb said.
Families in DuPage County who lost someone in the opioid crisis are now pushing for transparency on how that money is spent -- many who now have unexpected expenses to pay for like funerals to pay for.
"Our kids matter. They matter, this is our kids blood money," Robb said.
The states attorney in DuPage County says they want to hear from victims' families, but also says there is a huge need for treatment facilities like methadone clinics that have been proven to cut down on opioid related deaths.
The Zanders believe in funding counseling and support for victims' families and say that's money better spent.
