Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we’ve been “at war” with it for decades. Yet despite the country’s best efforts to fight it, the problem is still prevalent. There were more than
68,400drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in October 2025, according to the CDC.
County jail inmates across the region are suffering from preventable circumstances due to a lack of uniform health care standards and resources. Several have died before ever even stepping foot into a courtroom for their alleged crimes.
Providing additional funding and staff for Illinois jails to handle inmates' medical needs has been a challenge at the state and federal level.
Families, sheriffs and providers agree: jail is often the default response to addiction, even as withdrawal can become a medical emergency.
An investigation into nearly 100 Illinois jail cases shows repeated medical failures that left people injured, suffering or dead before their cases were heard.
For Star subscribers: The "Safe City Initiative" is in response to residents' "palpable frustration", Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said.
As others in Tucson have seen, the problem of drug use and addiction has exploded in the past few years. Addressing the issue of supply is imp…
President Trump’s proposed cuts to health care spending at the state and local levels will savage Medicaid and other safety-net programs. They will almost certainly result in reduced health care coverage for millions of low-income Americans.
Why does child abuse happen? A new public service announcement says most people think it’s a “bad parent problem,” but the ad suggests “the root causes may be different than you think.”
A legislative panel in Arizona voted Tuesday to allow people suspected of being impaired on drugs to be locked up for up to five days without their consent.
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Tucson launches safety initiative to fight homelessness, opioid crises