CHICAGO — Illinois is seeing a surge in opioid-related deaths in 2020, already doubling last year’s amounts in Cook County. The state received more than $36 million in federal funding in order to fight the opioid crisis Friday, and State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is hopeful these new funds will help equip Illinoisans with the resources to fight substance abuse.

“Many people don’t understand that drug abuse and drug addictions are a disease,” Hunter said. “It’s important to take all the necessary steps to prevent addiction early. There are people battling the global health crisis, racism, and opioid addictions all at the same time. Now more than ever, people need help fighting the disease of addiction, just as they would need help fighting cancer or any other disease.”

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In an effort to fight obesity and other health issues, Chicago Democrat, State Senator Mattie Hunter has filed a plan to tax sugary drinks.

Sen. Mattie Hunter, Vice-Chair of the Senate Public Health Committee, filed a proposal on Valentine’s Day to add a penny-per-ounce tax to sugar-sweetened beverages. The tax is a part of the legislator’s push to decrease cases of obesity in the state.

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Lack of trauma centers means lives are being lost, say concerned lawmakers and officials

Someone shot or otherwise seriously injured on Chicago’s violence-plagued South Side waits nearly 50 percent longer to get to a trauma center than anywhere else in the city, a delay that medical experts say costs lives and that local community leaders and a leading area lawmaker say is simply unacceptable.

The situation came under the spotlight earlier this week when Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat, convened the first-of-its kind hearing looking into the lack of trauma centers across a wide swath of the city’s South Side.

These neighborhoods have been dubbed “trauma center deserts” because of the scarcity of high-level emergency care for adults. The real-world implications are that victims of violence have to be transported greater distances in situations where every second can be precious.

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State Senator Mattie Hunter joined representatives from the Illinois Lottery, family of Carolyn Adams and Department of Public Health Director LaMar Hasbrouck for the launching of the 10th edition of the "Ticket for a Cure," a lottery game that raises money for breast cancer research, promoting education and awareness. The event took place at the Loyola Medical Center in the Cardinal Bernardine Cancer Center in Maywood.

In 2011, Hunter sponsored legislation that allowed the Ticket for the Cure to be renamed in honor of former Illinois Lottery Superintendant Carolyn Adams, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 44. This year's ticket is the first edition since the ticket was renamed.

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