Suburban counties plan announcement on opioid maker lawsuits
Leaders from five suburban counties plan to make a major announcement today about a legal approach in the fight against the opioid crisis, officials said Wednesday.
During a 10 a.m. news conference at the DuPage County board room in Wheaton, county board chairmen and state's attorneys from DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties plan to share details about lawsuits against companies that make opioid pain medications.
The announcement will follow Kane County's decision to sue the makers of a variety of prescription medications, seeking to recoup some of the costs incurred by the coroner, sheriff and health department in responding to addiction.
Kane County signed on in October with a legal team including Chicago-based Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC and St. Charles-based Meyers & Flowers. Now it appears other counties are ready to join in the legal effort to hold drugmakers accountable for the costs of addiction.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the annual cost to society from opioid abuse is $78.4 billion, including costs for lost productivity, health insurance, criminal justice and substance abuse treatment.
Locally, coroners have been reporting increasing costs for conducting autopsies and toxicology testing.