Law enforcement in Springfield are benefiting from local public officials' efforts to give them easier access to an opioid overdose antidote.
A 2015 Illinois law requires police agencies to carry Narcan, a nasal spray used to treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency. The law is in response to an ongoing national opioid abuse epidemic.
Springfield police have saved 12 people since February with the spray.
The Sangamon County Department of Public Health has contributed to the rescues by helping police agencies acquire a better price for the drug.
Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow says the Police Department sets aside $12,000 to $15,000 annually to buy the drug. Each kit costs $75 and contains two doses.
A total of nearly 240 kits have been acquired by police agencies in the county.
