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 July 23, 2026 meeting, the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB) reviewed and recommended the following: Wisdom Circles, Acupuncture Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder, and a new award cycle for each of the Community Outreach and Recovery Services (CORS), Intramuscular Naloxone Distribution Hub (IMNH), and Opioid Abatement Strategies Effectiveness Evaluator (OASEE) programs. Each new award cycle will be competitively awarded. These recommendations were reviewed and approved by the Governor’s Opioid Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee (Steering Committee) at its August 13, 2026 meeting.
Wisdom Circles
The Wisdom Circles recommendation allocates $1,050,000 over 3 years ($350,000 per year) to pilot Courageous Conversations, a peer-led, small-group intervention designed to engage Black men who use drugs, particularly those impacted by opioids, in structured, culturally responsive dialogue, storytelling, and shared problem-solving. The program centers the lived experience, resilience, and collective wisdom of Black men to reduce stigma, increase engagement in care, and promote pathways to healing and recovery. The model trains credible messengers and peer facilitators to lead “Wisdom Circles” that foster honest discussion about racism, grief, substance use, trauma, masculinity, mental health, and recovery in a safe and affirming space, drawing on community-based participatory principles, behavioral health best practices, and the evidence base supporting peer-driven, small-group recovery models. The pilot is intended for all seven regions, with each region focusing on the subpopulation most affected by opioid overdose in its area.
Acupuncture Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder
The Acupuncture Therapy for OUD recommendation allocates $3,000,000 over 3 years ($1,000,000 per year) to a demonstration project providing ear acupuncture — a non-opioid therapy — in Illinois community health centers, including federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, harm reduction organizations, and other community centers serving individuals with OUD and substance use disorder. Licensed acupuncturists will administer the NADA auricular acupuncture protocol to adult patients with OUD, with or without other medications, as part of OUD treatment. The protocol can treat OUD directly, potentiate medication assisted treatment, address co-occurring conditions including mental health conditions, chronic pain, and insomnia, and help prevent relapse. The project addresses health disparities by increasing access to acupuncture for OUD among community health center populations that currently have limited or no access.
Community Outreach and Recovery Services (CORS)
The CORS recommendation allocates $15,000,000 over 3 years to fund a new award cycle of community-based outreach and recovery support services for individuals with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. CORS connects individuals to recovery coaching and resources, treatment, housing, and other supports, and builds the peer support workforce through onboarding training and support for peer support workers and people with lived experience pursuing state recovery support certification credentials. The program serves all seven regions of the state.
Intramuscular Naloxone Distribution Hub (IMNH)
The IMNH recommendation allocates $3,000,000 over 3 years to fund a new award cycle of the statewide intramuscular naloxone distribution hub, which increases access to and availability of intramuscular naloxone injection kits for people who use opioids, with particular emphasis on areas disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis. The hub manages inventory, assembles kits according to standardized procedures, operates a secure website for kit requests, and distributes kits to organizations serving people who use opioids and to individuals throughout the state.
Opioid Abatement Strategies Effectiveness Evaluator (OASEE)
The OASEE recommendation allocates $3,000,000 over 3 years ($1,000,000 per year) to fund a new award cycle of statewide support for measuring outcomes across opioid abatement strategies. OASEE establishes data collection processes and outcome measures, analyzes quantitative and qualitative program data, and reports findings twice yearly on program outcomes, disparities, and barriers to implementation across all seven regions of the state.
The next meeting of the IORAB will be October 22, 2026. More information is available on the IORAB web page. The next meeting of the Steering Committee will be November 12, 2026. More information is available on the Steering Committee web page.
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.
