(Photo by Mayron Oliveira on Unsplash)

Cook County officials said every hospitalization and death at this point “is entirely preventable” and again urged residents to roll up their sleeves. “Please, get vaccinated,” said Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar. “You will make a difference.”

Fentanyl pills (Credit: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

With suburban Cook County on track to exceed 2,000 opioid overdose deaths this year, officials announce a program to address the “silent epidemic” that will connect people with treatment.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle talks about the rise in deaths by suicide in the Black community at a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (Toni Preckwinkle / Facebook)

More African Americans in Cook County have died by suicide this year than during all of 2019, with a notable increase among young people, according to county officials. “This is horrifying,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

(Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker / Flickr)

COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities, but the opioid crisis is also taking a “devastating toll” on Chicago-area residents this year, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

(WTTW News)

About 70% of Illinois’ COVID-19 deaths are in Cook County. As a result of the pandemic, the medical examiner’s office opened an off-site morgue to deal with a surge in deaths.