Overdose settlement money plans

Fatal overdoses have increased locally despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reporting the largest decline of annual overdose deaths the country has ever seen, and the city of Springfield plans to roll out a special 911 response team to aid those experiencing an overdose.

Unlike much of the country, Sangamon County has not experienced a reduction in fatal overdoses over the past few years, according to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.

“Maybe, like everything else, it takes a little while to get to central Illinois,” Allmon told Illinois Times of the reported national declines in overdose deaths. “I know ours are going up, and I tell people that.”

At an Illinois House committee meeting in March, John Werning, the executive director of Chicago Recovery Alliance, a harm reduction nonprofit often credited as one of the country’s pioneering social service providers, reminded officials that overdose is still the leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 44.

“Recent reports from the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health have celebrated a reduction in overdose fatalities in the last year,” Werning said. “I don’t mean to cheapen these hard-earned reductions but I need everyone to remember, despite that trend, we still have 86,000 people dying from overdoses nationally and over 3,500 overdose fatalities in Illinois specifically per year,” he said. “We are not out of this epidemic by any means, not even close.”

The U.S. still has both a higher count and rate of deadly overdoses than any other country in the world. At that same committee hearing, he explained the “unbelievable opportunity” the state has as it receives $1.4 billion in opioid overdose settlement money by 2038, one-third of which has been received already.

Illinois officials decided to allocate 55% of settlement dollars toward a remediation fund that aims to slow the number of overdoses and resulting deaths in the state, 33% to local governments and 12% to the state. Local governments largely have the flexibility to decide how to spend their share of the funds.

“Treatment first, transport second”

On Oct. 21, Mayor Misty Buscher announced the Bridging Emergency and Community Outreach Network, or BEACON, where the city of Springfield will dedicate opioid overdose settlement money to a city-run alternate 911 response team that will aid people experiencing an overdose. Buscher said the city plans to purchase a new ambulance for BEACON, although it will not be used in the same way as traditional ambulances. It will be staffed by Springfield firefighters and licensed clinical social workers who will seek to connect people to treatment services.

The ordinance, which had the rare sponsorship of all 10 council members along with Buscher, passed City Council on Nov. 4 and authorized the Springfield Fire Department to purchase an ambulance for about $337,000. That amount is roughly 40% of what the city has received so far through its local government share of opioid settlements. The new program is scheduled to be operational in May.

Springfield Fire Chief Nick Zummo said at the Oct. 28 Committee of the Whole meeting that although BEACON’s main equipment will be an ambulance, the program’s framework is to get medical care to people in need rather than transport people in need of immediate resuscitation or social services to an already overwhelmed emergency department.

“We all work together as a team, as a community, as a city, to bring a treatment first, transport second product. Our idea is to get the right people in the streets to hopefully deliver the right care for the people that are in need,” Zummo told council members. “We’re hoping that bringing EMTs, along with the social workers, and treating the people in the field is going to get them the right help. But that’s not always the case, and if it is an opioid issue, things can go south very quickly when they’re on scene and we can transport if needed.”

“You will find Springfield firefighters on the BOLT (BEACON Outreach Life-saving Treatment vehicle), and it will require additional staffing,” Buscher said. “The BOLT will be available 24/7; the BOLT will not rest.”

She said social workers who are hired for BEACON and BOLT will report to the city’s Community Relations office. 

“At this time, if someone has overdosed and the paramedics come, 911 is called and they come and they give Narcan to the individual, and the individual wakes up. The individual can choose to not go to the hospital,” she said. “At that point, the only option for our partners that are paramedics here is to then leave. Now, they can call us and the BOLT can come with the social worker and work with the individual to handle their situation, so it’s a whole new option.”

Jessica Gillooly, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Suffolk University in Boston, told Illinois Times that one of the major hurdles for any alternative response program is making sure dispatchers understand why the resources are being created, their critical role as a dispatcher and the legal side of how a program operates.

“Dispatchers are the ones who must decide whether to send an alternative responder or police and, in some cities, they too often default to sending the police. In 2024, the Department of Justice investigated Louisville and Phoenix and found that even when behavioral health teams were available, 911 centers continued dispatching regular patrol officers instead,” wrote Gillooly, who studies emergency service dispatch, policing and race.

“Changing the culture around risk and liability within 911 centers is really key to making these programs work. Dispatchers need support, training and clear guidance from leadership. Without that shift, even the best-designed alternative response programs won’t reach the people they’re meant to help,” she said.

---

This article appears in November 6-12, 2025.