CHICAGO (WGEM) – Illinois lawmakers are looking at how best to spend dollars coming from cannabis taxes and opioid settlements.
Members of the House and Senate Joint Committees on Mental Health and Addictions met Thursday in Chicago for a second hearing to consider where the dollars should go.
“How can we provide the best possible treatment in Illinois to our friends, family and neighbors?” asked state Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, co-chair of the committee.
The state is scheduled to receive about $1.3 billion in opioid settlements by 2038. It is estimated that about $772.57 million will go to the Treatment Fund, which will be used for substance abuse programs in accordance with the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement.
State law requires that the Illinois Department of Human Services receive 20% of annual cannabis tax revenues to be used for the prevention of substance abuse and mental health concerns. In fiscal year 2024, that number is about $56 million, according to the Illinois Cannabis Regulatory Oversight Officer.
The question now is how exactly the state should spend this money.
“We know that this is an ongoing, daily discussion that is about keeping your doors open for some of you, and for others, it's about keeping your doors open as wide as possible, so that people can find the way and access things like treatment, things like support, things like recovery.” said state Rep. Lindsay LaPointe, D-Chicago, the committee's other co-chair.
The hearing comes as the state gave substance use disorder treatment providers a $45 million budget cut for the current fiscal year. This measure was called “correct sizing” and was intended to reduce funds that had not been used during the previous year.
Judd Delos, CEO of the Illinois Behavioral Health Association, said the cuts do not anticipate current or future use.
“We would like to see more spending on essential services rather than allocating that money to additional or new programs while existing services wither and die,” Delos said.
The money goes to care that is not reimbursed by Medicaid or private insurance, DeLoss said. These expenses combined with administrative costs put pressure on providers.
He has a simple message for lawmakers as they look to spend opioid tax dollars and cannabis taxes.
“We would like to see more spending on essential services rather than allocating that money to additional or new programs while existing services wither and die,” Delos said.
Lawmakers said discussions are continuing, but they want to start planning now how to address the issue in the next state budget.
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