Kendall Sheriff Partners With Leaders To Tackle Opioid Epidemic

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — Last week, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office participated with U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Plano, and leaders of surrounding counties to join the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove for a discussions on opioids. This event aimed to provide a space for community leaders to discuss the nation’s challenge and generate ideas that could make a difference.

The opioid epidemic or opioid crisis is the rapid increase in the use of prescription and nonprescription

opioid drugs in the United States and Canada beginning in the late 1990s and continuing throughout the first two decades of the 2000s. Opioids are a diverse class of moderately strong painkillers, including oxycodone (commonly sold under the trade names OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and a very strong painkiller, fentanyl, which is synthesized to resemble other opiates such as opium-derived morphine and heroin.

According to 2016 data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 42,249 people
died from opioid-related drug overdoses and 11.5 million misused prescription opioids.

Sheriff Dwight Baird said, “Victims and their families deserve justice. The opioid epidemic is destroying our communities and killing many of our young people. We must join together to combat this problem. The opioid epidemic has had an incredible impact on our community, and fighting this problem has to be a priority in order to save lives. Any law enforcement assistance or additional community resources are greatly appreciated."

Submitted by the Kendall County Sheriff's Office/Photo of Sheriff Dwight Baird