Cook County registered a record number of opioid-related deaths in 2020, according to the medical examiner, which found many cases originated from Chicago’s West Side. Although so far this year the city’s opioid deaths have decreased compared with this point in time in 2020, the share that stems from fentanyl use continues climbing. About 88% of all fatal opioid overdoses in Chicago this year are related to fentanyl, according to the medical examiner, compared with 83% in all of 2020 and 74% in 2019.
