by dap | Jan 2, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
The number of opioid overdose deaths in Cook County dropped dramatically in 2024, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Last year in Cook County, 1,026 people died from opioid overdoses — a nearly 44% drop from 2023. The medical examiner’s office expects another 200 to 300 of its pending cases will be ruled opioid overdose deaths. But even with those additional cases, the number would still be far fewer than in 2023, when 1,822 people died of opioid overdoses.
The vast majority of opioid overdose deaths last year in Cook County, about 87%, involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 100 times more potent than morphine.
“Every one of these cases is an unspeakable tragedy, but it’s certainly encouraging to know we’re going in the right direction,” said Dr. Tom Nutter, chief behavioral health officer for Cook County Health.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar noted that opioid overdose deaths also have been decreasing in other areas of the country and said the local decrease “speaks to the measures that Cook County Health has been instituting.”
Examples include using money from opioid legal settlements to bolster the opioid treatment program at Cook County Jail; placing vending machines with free naloxone (used to reverse opioid overdoses) at Provident and Stroger hospitals and the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center; and sending mobile units into the community to conduct drug testing, provide counseling and distribute naloxone, Nutter said. The Chicago Department of Public Health also has
and initiatives.
The decrease follows a national trend. The White House announced in November that drug overdose deaths had decreased nationally by about 14.5% in the year that ended in June 2024. At the time, the White House attributed the decrease to the removal of barriers to treatment; moves to make overdose-reversal medications such as naloxone more accessible and affordable; and a crackdown on illegal fentanyl at the border.
Decreases, however, can mask disparities between racial groups. When drug overdose deaths decreased nationally from 2022 to 2023, white people were the only racial group that saw a significant decrease during that time, with deaths increasing for Black and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander people.
In Cook County, the percentage of people who died of opioid overdoses who were Black decreased in 2024, Arunkumar said, though Black people still accounted for many of the deaths. In Cook County, 53% of those who died of opioid overdoses in 2024 were Black, 31% were white and nearly 14% were Latino. The most affected age group was people 50 to 59, with 27% of the deaths.
“We still see disproportionately high rates of overdose within the Black community, Latinx community, lower socioeconomic (areas),” said John Werning, executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance. “It’s still the most marginalized who are dying disproportionately.”
2024 was the second consecutive year that opioid overdose deaths fell in Cook County. They decreased about 9% from 2022 to 2023.
In addition to the drop in opioid overdose deaths, the medical examiner’s office also reported declines in homicides and suicides in Cook County last year.
Continuing a trend, the number of homicides in Cook County decreased from 850 in 2023 to 773 in 2024, according to preliminary data. Homicides have been decreasing since 2022 in Cook County.
About 78% of Cook County homicides last year were in Chicago. In 72% of Cook County’s 2024 homicides, Black people were the victims, and in nearly 22% the victims were Latino people.
Suicides decreased from 508 in 2023 to 431 in 2024, according to preliminary data. Men accounted for about 80% of those deaths, and about 61% of those who died were white, 17% were Black and 16% were Latino.
by dap | Jan 2, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.
The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn’t seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, “Hey, Siri.” Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted.
The allegations about a snoopy Siri contradicted Apple’s long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers — a crusade that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to preserve “a fundamental human right.”
Apple isn’t acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement, which still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Lawyers in the case have proposed scheduling a Feb. 14 court hearing in Oakland to review the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, although the payment could be reduced or increased, depending on the volume of claims. Only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, according to estimates in court documents.
Eligible consumers will be limited to seeking compensation on a maximum of five devices.
The settlement represents a sliver of the $705 billion in profits that Apple has pocketed since September 2014. It’s also a fraction of the roughly $1.5 billion that the lawyers representing consumers had estimated Apple could been required to pay if the company had been found of violating wiretapping and other privacy laws had the case gone to a trial.
The attorneys who filed the lawsuit may seek up to $29.6 million from the settlement fund to cover their fees and other expenses, according to court documents.
by dap | Jan 2, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
A late December house fire that claimed the life of a family’s dog in La Grange Park has resulted in an outpouring of support for the residents of the heavily damaged home in the 500 block of North Catherine Avenue.
Officials said a neighbor on Dec. 28 reported fire coming out of the back windows and appeared to be spreading to the second floor and attic of the two and one-half story frame house.
Emergency responders said nobody was home at the time, and no human injuries were reported. While firefighters did rescue the family dog, it was unresponsive and later died, apparently from smoke inhalation, they said.
La Grange Park firefighters were assisted by the La Grange Fire Department and several other nearby departments, through the MABAS Mutual Aide Box Alarm System.
La Grange Park Fire Chief Dean Maggos indicated that the origins of the fire are still unknown, but that the house was uninhabitable and initial estimates are that the damages to be in the neighborhood of $200,000. He also said that the family lost most of their personal belongings.
An online donation drive to support the family at
indicated “they will need to rebuild their lives from scratch.” As of Thursday afternoon, it had generated over $60,000 of a $65,000 goal.
In a message posted on the site, the residents, the Dryfoos family, said they are “beyond grateful and so incredibly humbled” by the outpouring of support from friends and neighbors. Beyond financial support, the family has received “clothes, shoes, toys and letters of support,” they said.
“We are so thankful and cannot believe how generous people have been,” they wrote. “The Dryfoos family will rebuild one day at a time.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
by dap | Jan 2, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
On Dec. 20, a Friday night, the Chicago Board of Education appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson voted unanimously to fire Pedro Martinez, the first permanent Latino CEO of CPS. This decision followed months of deception by the mayor and the Chicago Teachers Union, a transition from one puppet board to another and a historic school board election. It also came less than a week after the
that ignores structural problems plaguing our city.
In complete disregard for the potential legal consequences, the board made the appalling decision to fire Martinez from a district where
— about 154,000 — of the students are Latino, prioritizing political interests over the well-being of students.
Many will rightly focus on what this decision means for CPS and the mayor’s tenure. But I want to address a different issue: the glaring absence of meaningful public support and action for Martinez from our Latino leaders. To be fair, there were some exceptions, such as Ald. Gilbert Villegas and former interim CPS CEO Jesse Ruiz, who spoke out. But where were the others? Where was U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez? U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García? What about Latino state legislative leaders Sens. Omar Aquino and Celina Villanueva and Reps. Aaron Ortiz and Lilian Jimenez? This isn’t just about elected officials; the silence extended to our civic leaders as well.
García, Villanueva and Ortiz did
on the day of the board meeting, but it’s hard to call that standing up for our community. The harsh truth is that we failed our community by not doing more to save Martinez’s position at CPS. We let down thousands of Latino families that rely on the education system not only for academic success but also for the future and hope of their children.
The question, of course, is why? Why wasn’t there an outpouring of support from community leaders? Why weren’t there news conferences, daily media interviews, protests or, at the very least, an organized effort to transport Martinez’s supporters to the board meeting? Some will argue that the board’s decision was inevitable, that members had already made up their minds and there was nothing left to be done. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the real reason. The truth is that, like our mayor, many of these elected officials have deep ties to the CTU and rely on its financial and volunteer support to secure their elections. This loyalty to the CTU was prioritized over standing up for our community.
I’m not even talking about the decadeslong ties. Just in this past election, García’s endorsed school board candidate, Yesenia Lopez, partly won her race due to significant financial support from the CTU.
On the Northwest Side of the city, the CTU’s endorsed but ultimately unsuccessful candidate, Jason Dones,
from the union and was supported by Ramirez and seven other Latino elected officials. If you examine the contributions to these officials’ campaigns, the CTU’s influence is clear. This pattern of financial support raises serious questions about whether these leaders are truly prioritizing the needs of our community or if they are more committed to maintaining political alliances at any cost.
The Latino community, which makes up nearly one-third of Chicago’s population, must demand better from its leaders. We can no longer afford to sit back and watch as political interests take precedence over the needs of our community. It is critical that our leaders stand up against undue political influence and fight for us. If they won’t stand up for Martinez, someone who was born and raised in Chicago, a product of CPS and highly qualified for the role, then who will they stand up for?
Ultimately, this isn’t just about defending one individual — it’s about demanding leadership that truly represents our community. The failure to act in this moment exposes a deeper issue: Our needs are being sidelined for political convenience.
It’s time for leaders who will stand up for our families, our children and the future we deserve.
Hugo Jacobo is a Democratic political consultant based in Chicago who has worked on campaigns for Anna Valencia, Rahm Emanuel, Sol Flores and President Joe Biden. A proud product of Chicago Public Schools, he now serves as director of Chicago Democrats for Education.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor
or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
by dap | Jan 2, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
The city of Aurora is planning to open a new health clinic for its employees and their dependents at the Bloomhaven campus on the city’s East Side.
The clinic, which will be operated by Marathon Health, should both save the city money on health insurance costs and provide high-quality, accessible health care for the city’s employees and dependents, along with any pre-Medicare retirees, city staff told the Aurora City Council on Dec. 17. The plan was approved by the Aurora City Council at that meeting.
When the clinic opens, city employees and those on their health plan will get the choice to go to this clinic instead of their usual primary care doctor or urgent care clinic. Visits will be free for employees on the city’s PPO plan and $25 for employees on the HSA plan, according to a staff report included with the meeting’s agenda.
The clinic will also have a pharmacy, where employees on both plans can get a variety of prescription medication filled for free, the staff report said.
Larry Morrissey of Marathon Health said the company “prides itself as being a national leader in proving evidence-based, quality care,” and that it works to build relationships with its patients. The clinic will offer “advanced primary care” that covers preventive care, general wellness, urgent care, condition management and other services, his presentation showed.
Patients who need specialized care outside of what the clinic can provide will be referred to specialists, but those working at the clinic can also ask questions of specialists employed internally by Marathon to get patients quicker answers to their questions and potentially save them a trip to a specialist, according to Morrissey.
For example, if someone came in with a skin condition that looked somewhat questionable, the doctor could take a picture and write a brief description to send to an internal specialist asking whether or not it needs to be referred out, he said.
Employed at the clinic will be one medical doctor, two medical assistants and a licensed social worker for mental health services.
Aurora’s Chief Management Officer Alex Alexandrou said that the city’s Human Resources Department has been hearing from employees that it has been difficult to get mental health appointments, with some people having to wait two or three months for an appointment. Having a full-time mental health professional at this clinic will be “huge,” he said.
The city will also use the clinic for its occupational health and workers compensation services like pre-employment physicals, drug testing and immediate care for injuries at work, according to the staff report.
Morrissey was previously the mayor of Rockford, which hired Marathon Health while he was in office. That clinic has been successful because employees use it and because it has saved the city money, he said.
“It was probably, looking back, the best thing that I ever did as mayor to help align the interests of labor and management, and also do something very good for taxpayers: save them money,” Morrissey said.
The city could save as much as $6.5 million over the life of the five-year contract, according to Aurora Chief Financial Officer Chris Minick. He said the contract effectively fixes the price of routine health care for its employees who use the clinic, which leads to cost savings and less variation in the amount spent year-to-year.
The contract also locks in the prices the city will pay over the next five years, and while there are annual increases, they are much lower than the estimated rate of medical inflation, he said.
The first year of the clinic is expected to cost around $2.4 million, split among the roughly $1.25 million annual operating cost, $1.1 million build-out of the clinic at Bloomhaven and a $75,000 reimbursement to Marathon Health for its lease of the Bloomhaven location, staff said.
With cost savings, the city is expecting to basically break even the first year of the clinic, according to Minick.
The clinic is expected to be open by October and is set to be located in a roughly-2,500 square-foot space with room to expand, Alexandrou said.
Marathon will regularly review how busy the clinic is to see if more staff may be necessary, Morrissey said.
The Aurora City Council voted 10–1 to approve the new clinic, with Ald. John Laesch, at-large, voting against. Ald. Ron Woerman, at-large, recused himself from the discussion and vote.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
