RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6 (a); and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Chicago hereby finds that the City of Chicago must take immediate action to address the heroin crisis in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Heroin-related overdose deaths have quadrupled in the United States in the past decade; and
WHEREAS, Nationwide, the number of people who admitted using heroin within the past year nearly doubled between 2007 and 2013 to 681,000; and
WHEREAS, Heroin overdose deaths have been on the rise statewide since 2011, according to Illinois Department of Public Health; Last year, 633 heroin overdose deaths occurred statewide, up from 583 in 2013; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, heroin accounted for 224 of the 337 total opioid-linked deaths in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, According to a report published by the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University, in 2011, hospitals in the Chicago Metropolitan Area witnessed more heroin-related emergency room visits than any other city in the country; and
WHEREAS, According to the Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring Program, Cook County ranked first in the nation for heroin use among arrestees in 2011, arrestees from Cook County self-reported using heroin more times per month and reported using heroin in the prior three days more than those from any other area, and arrestees from Chicago tested positive for opiates including heroin at a rate that is 18.5% higher than any other city in the nation; and
WHEREAS, In the Chicago area, those entering into publicly funded treatment for heroin in 2012 represented 35 percent of treatment admissions, more than double the national average and higher than the state as a whole; and
WHEREAS, In 2013 the DuPage County Board joined with the Coroner, State's Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, Judiciary, Superintendent of Education, Chiefs of Police, and Public Health staff to establish the DuPage Coalition Against Heroin to address the alarming trend of opioid use leading to heroin addiction sweeping the region; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, DuPage County heroin deaths dropped from 46 the previous year to 33; and
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WHEREAS, Addressing heroin-related issues in Chicago requires a multi-tiered approach and the corporate authorities of the City of Chicago intend to collaborate with executive departments, sister agencies, other government agencies and officials, medical professionals, advocates of drug addiction treatment programs, and other experts to develop a plan to combat the scourge of heroin addiction in Chicago; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
SECTION 1. There is hereby created an advisory task force entitled the Chicago Task Force Against Heroin to make recommendations to the Committee on Finance of the City Council of the City of Chicago concerning the formulation of a multi-tiered plan to address heroin-related issues in the City of Chicago. The advisory task force specifically is charged with addressing and reporting to the Committee on Finance oh the following topics:
Naloxone Program. This analysis shall address the success of naloxone programs in other jurisdictions and focus on the advisability of providing Chicago police officers with anti-opioid kits and training for administering naloxone to supplement the Chicago Fire Department's response to opioid overdoses.
Law Enforcement. This analysis shall focus on the Police Department's strategy for targeting heroin sales and distribution within the city. This analysis shall, at a minimum, identify any increase in heroin-related criminal activity and address the Police Department's efforts to combat heroin-related crimes in the city.
(c) . Public Health Measures. This analysis shall focus on the availability of heroin
and other prescription opioid addiction treatment programs in Chicago, treatment capacity and funding, and ways in which the city can coordinate with other government agencies and not-for-profit entities to offer heroin and other prescription opioid addiction prevention and treatment services.
(d) Public Awareness. This analysis shall focus on potential prevention education
and community awareness campaigns.
SECTION 2. The Chicago Task Force Against Heroin shall consist of Aldermen Edward M. Burke, Pat Dowell, Leslie Hairston, George A. Cardenas, Willie B. Cochran, Ariel E. Reboyras, Emma A. Mitts, a designee of the Chicago Police Department, a designee of the Chicago Fire Department, a designee of the Office of Emergency Management & Communications, a designee of the Chicago Department of Public Health, and a designee of the Department of Law. The advisory task force shall additionally consult with the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Cook County State's Attorney, the Cook County Public Defender, the Cook County Sheriff, the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Medical Examiner of Cook County, the Chicago Public Schools, medical professionals, advocates of drug addiction treatment programs, including, but not limited to, the Gateway Foundation, the Robert Crown Center for Health Education, the Chicago Recovery Alliance, the Heartland Alliance, the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt
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SECTION 3. The Chicago Task Force Against Heroin shall report its findings to the Committee on Finance within ninety days.
Willie B. Cochran, Alderman, 20tn Ward|1010|
Edward M. Burke, Alderman, 14 Ward