Rockford Sun

A successful opioid treatment program at the Winnebago County Jail will be the basis for similar programs in other county jails.

The treatment uses a naltrexone injection to reduce opioid cravings for inmates while they are in jail. The program also provides outpatient treatment after their release.

Ninety-two percent of the 400 inmates that were treated are currently in recovery and able to rebuild their lives, Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti said in a press release.

Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti | www.illinois.gov

“This program that started in the Winnebago County Jail years ago has been so successful that the state is now emulating it in other county jails,” Sanguinetti said.

The program is just one of the strategies Illinois has pursued as part of the Illinois Opioid Action Plan, which was released last year along with the creation of the governor's opioid task force.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has also signed two bills into law that are meant to have an impact on the opioid crisis. Senate Bill 772 requires physicians to use the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program to prevent addicts from procuring illegal prescriptions.

Senate Bill 336, enacted last month, allows patients to exchange opioid prescriptions for non-addictive medical cannabis.

“The opioid crisis is having a devastating effect on individuals, families and employers in Illinois,” Rauner said in the press release. “Our team’s lifesaving work is intensely focused on both prevention and treatment of this pervasive and complex problem.”

The federal government has provided more than $32 million to the Illinois Department of Human Services to help fight the opioid crisis in the past couple of years, according to the press release.