According to federal data, only one in ten people with a drug addiction receive treatment. Two bills awaiting action from Governor Bruce Rauner could help more people in Illinois get access to drug addiction treatment.

For five years in a row, every state in the U.S. has seen a continuous drop in opioid prescriptions.  Still the number of people who die from opioid overdoses continues to climb. This is all part of a national trend captured in a recent report from the American Medical Association.

Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory. More Americans he said, should know how to use naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, and carry it with them in case they encounter someone who has overdosed on heroin or other opioids. But actually getting a hold of naloxone can be difficult. Many pharmacies and local health departments don’t stock it, and not everyone can afford it.

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says he’s not seeing enough statewide progress in addressing the opioid addiction crisis. 

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues a report on the number of overdoses in the US, it’s only as good as the data states send in.