The Illinois Attorney General, along with attorneys general for numerous other states, filed lawsuits against prescription opioid distributors, manufacturers, and dispensers to seek recovery for their unfair and deceptive practices in the marketing, sale, and distribution of these drugs. These lawsuits led to numerous national multistate settlement agreements with various participants in the prescription opioid market. As a result of these efforts, Illinois expects to receive more than $1.4 billion in settlement monies by 2038, to be used in all parts of the state to abate the opioid crisis.
To date, national opioid settlements* have been finalized with:
* The State of Illinois also joined a multistate settlement with McKinsey & Company Inc. Local governments may have separately received monies under a class action settlement with McKinsey that did not involve the State. These settlements are not included here, as they are excluded from the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement.
** The Meijer settlement was entered into by certain Illinois counties only, with the monies being distributed in accordance with the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement.
“Other” includes payments reallocated from non-multistate opioid settlements.
The Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (IDHS/DBHR) and the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB), in an effort to be transparent and accountable for the opioid settlement funds received, will annually publish a report of settlement funds received and distributed. The Illinois Remediation Funds State Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report is available now.
At its January 22, 2026 meeting, the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB) reviewed and recommended the following recommendations: Provision of Wound Care Supplies, Transportation to Treatment and Support Services, and Enhanced Recovery Home Services. These recommendations were reviewed and approved by the Governor’s Opioid Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee (Steering Committee) at its February 18, 2025 meeting.
The Transportation to Treatment and Support Services recommendation allocates $1,500,000 over 3 years is to ensure equitable access to a continuum of recovery and support services for individuals impacted by opioid use who live in rural and urban areas with accessibility issues. A core barrier to care in rural and transient deprived areas is transportation. To mitigate this challenge, the proposal includes transportation funding designed to provide ride-share services and vouchers for essential recovery and treatment related travel, professional support for riders through peer support companions, coverage for transportation to and from treatment appointments, recovery meetings, court appearances, pharmacies, employment-related activities, and other SUD support services.
To avoid fragmentation and duplication of services, funding will support transportation for people not covered by Medicaid and system integration through Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) and coordination across agencies providing support for those experiencing SUD/OUD.
The Enhanced Recovery Home services recommendation allocates $2,400,000 million over three years to achieve the following:
Enhanced training and staffing for recovery homes in Illinois will provide support and incentivization for a culture shift towards a harm reduction environment that meets residents “where they are” in their recovery journey, which may or may not have total abstinence as the end goal. Staff would receive foundational training in trauma & resilience, harm reduction, and Motivational Interviewing as evidence-based core competencies.
The next meeting of the IORAB will be April 23, 2026. More information is available on the IORAB web page. The next meeting of the Steering Committee will be posted on the Steering Committee web page once scheduled.
Established by Executive Order 2022-19, the Illinois Office of Opioid Settlement Administration (OOSA) is the entity responsible for planning, administering, and managing 55% of the funds received from opioid settlements. The OOSA is housed within the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.
The OOSA is dedicated to addressing the opioid crisis and employs resources to fund recommended and approved core abatement strategies for opioid settlement funds to combat the overdose epidemic as established in the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement (Allocation Agreement). These opioid core abatement strategies align with recommendations in the 2022 State of Illinois Overdose Action Plan (SOAP), a comprehensive, equity-centric outline for combatting the opioid epidemic.
The OOSA is led by the Statewide Opioid Settlement Administrator, who works collaboratively with the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB) to develop non-binding funding recommendations to present to the Illinois Opioid Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee. The recommendations help ensure the state’s settlement portion in the trust (55%) is used for approved abatement strategies and equitably distributed across the state, taking into account the areas most impacted by the opioid epidemic. IORAB recommendations that are approved by the Steering Committee must be certified by the Attorney General’s office and processed in accordance with state requirements for funding opportunities.
For information on the IORAB, visit its webpage at Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board.
“Local Government Units (LGs)” refers to the more than 200 Illinois counties and municipalities that are eligible to receive a direct distribution of settlement monies under the Allocation Agreement. LGs are required to use their opioid settlement distributions in accordance with the Allocation Agreement, and report their expenditures quarterly.
Note: The RCCA Help Desk has moved to Freshservice. All communications, including Local Government Units quarterly reporting, must be submitted through the Freshservice ticketing platform.
To request an access to a Freshservice account, please fill in the fields in the linked Quarterly Reporting tile above above.
