Illinois to receive $40 million in opioid settlement with Kroger

A national settlement agreement with Kroger over the opioid crisis has been finalized, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office announced Monday.

Under the agreement, Illinois will receive more than $40 million of the $1.37 billion that the grocery chain agreed to pay in the deal, Raoul's office said. The majority of Illinois’ money will go to the Illinois Remediation Fund to be used for drug abatement programs throughout the state.

“This settlement ensures Kroger is held accountable and allows resources to reach communities hardest hit by this ongoing opioid crisis that continues to affect all corners of America,” Raoul said in a statement. “I am proud of the bipartisan work attorneys general continue to do to hold the companies accountable for fueling the opioid epidemic, and I am committed to ensuring that funding is distributed equitably throughout the state to help fund services needed to mitigate the opioid addiction crisis.”

Kroger was facing lawsuits from states, local governments and Native American tribes alleging the supermarket chain's pharmacies helped fuel the opioid epidemic.

Kroger agreed to the settlement in September 2023, and Illinois was among 30 states whose attorneys general signed on. The company would not admit wrongdoing or liability as part of the deal and has said it will continue to defend against any other lawsuits related to opioids that the agreement doesn't cover.

"We are pleased that Kroger’s previously announced multistate settlement received enough state and subdivision participation to become effective and binding," a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement Monday. "The finalization of this settlement, originally reached in September 2023, will deliver over $1.2 billion in support of opioid abatement efforts nationwide while resolving nearly all the outstanding opioid-related claims against the company."

Kroger has also agreed to injunctive relief that requires its pharmacies to monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions, Raoul's office said.

National settlement agreements have also been reached with companies such as Walmart, Walgreens and CVS.

In Cook County, opioid related deaths skyrocketed in 2020. Cook County recorded 1,821 opioid-related deaths in 2023. That figure was down slightly from its record of 2,001 in 2022. Opioid-related deaths totaled 1,295 in 2019 and jumped sharply at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opioid deaths disproportionately affect the county’s Black and Brown communities.

In recent years, efforts to increase access to naloxone have included offering it at Chicago Public Libraries in high-risk neighborhoods, and on the West Side, some plastic boxes that used to contain newspapers now distribute the drug.

Contributing: AP