West Cook News

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has published preliminary data for 2024, indicating a decrease in its caseload compared to the pandemic peak. The office handled 7,202 cases last year, a reduction from the 16,041 cases during the height of COVID-19 in 2020. Before the pandemic, annual cases averaged around 6,200.

Opioid overdose deaths have declined since their peak in 2022. The office confirmed 1,026 opioid-related deaths for 2024 and expects that number to increase slightly once pending toxicology tests are completed. Fentanyl was involved in 87% of these cases. Despite the decline, opioid overdoses remain the leading cause of unnatural deaths in Cook County.

Demographic data reveals that males constitute approximately 76% of opioid toxicity cases. African Americans account for 53% of these deaths, Latinos just under 14%, and whites make up 31%. The age group most affected is individuals aged between 50 and 59 years old.

Homicides also saw a decrease with a total of 773 cases reported in Cook County for the year, including 603 within Chicago city limits. This marks a more than nine percent drop from the previous year and over a twenty-nine percent decline from their peak in 2021. African Americans were victims in seventy-two percent of homicides while Latinos accounted for nearly twenty-two percent.

Suicide rates fell by nearly fifteen percent compared to previous years with males comprising over seventy-five percent of suicide deaths.

For further information on this data, visit the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office case archive.