On Monday, January 27, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued the Executive Order Strengthening the State’s Commitment to Ending the Opioid Epidemic. At a press conference, Gov. Pritzker highlighted the reduction in overall opioid overdose deaths in the state but lamented the increases in death rates among African Americans and Hispanics, saying “We will not tolerate the racial disparities that come from institutional failures.” The executive order focuses on the establishment of the Governor’s Opioid Overdose Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee which will work with the state’s Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council to better address racial disparities in recovery and prevention efforts with the creation of a new Statewide Opioid Action Plan (SOAP). It was accompanied by a commitment of $4.1 million to fund strategies such as naloxone distribution within at-risk communities, a syringe service program awareness campaign, and expanding the number of MAT providers. Read the full text of the executive order here See the full text of the Executive Order here.