CHICAGO (AP) – Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, will see its deadliest year for fatal opioid overdoses when 2020 ends. The county’s chief medical examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar said Wednesday opioid overdose deaths this year have already surpassed last year’s record-breaking tally, with 1,498 cases compared with 2019’s 1,277. Arunkumar says there are more than 600 pending death cases at her office, with about 70% to 80% of them expected to be ruled as opioid-related. Officials say Latinos and Black people make up 63% of the deaths even though they represent less than half of Cook County’s 5.1 million population.
