By Doug Wolfe | Published Feb. 25, 2022
CHICAGO (WAND) – A $26 billion opioid settlement agreement has been finalized with Illinois collecting $760 million according to state Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
The settlement was made with drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and three pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen. The companies will begin releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022. State and local governments will see the proceeds during the second quarter of 2022.
Raoul says the money will be distributed to fund critical recovery and treatment programs where opioid addiction has been prevalent. In Illinois, 94 out of 102 counties have signed onto the agreement. The agreement comes after three years of negotiations. It is the second largest multistate agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.