Preliminary 2025 Statistics Show Drop In Opioid Overdoses, Homicides: Cook County ME

COOK COUNTY, IL — Preliminary statistics for cases handled in 2025 by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office show a substantial decline in homicides and opioid overdose deaths over 2024.

While the medical examiner’s 2025 caseload continued to surpass pre-COVID levels, with 6,901 cases falling under’s its jurisdiction last year, caseloads continued to drop from the pandemic era of 16,041 in 2020. Before the pandemic, the office saw approximately 6,200 deaths in an average year.

Opioid overdose deaths in the Cook County continued a steep decline from their peak in 2022. While the medical examiner still awaits the results of approximately 180 toxicology tests, it has confirmed 683 opioid overdose deaths for 2025. The vast majority of those deaths – 82% – involved fentanyl. While this decline is encouraging, opioid overdoses remain the greatest cause of unnatural deaths in Cook County.

Of the opioid toxicity cases confirmed thus far, approximately 73% are male. African Americans make up half of the deaths, Latinos account for approximately 17% and whites constitute 32%. The age group most impacted continues to be 50- to 59-year-olds, accounting for 27% of overdose deaths.

The year’s youngest opioid overdose death in Cook County was a 2-year-old girl from Chicago, and the oldest was an 85-year-old woman from Harwood Heights.

For the first time since 2014, Cook County recorded fewer than 600 homicides in a year. The medical examiner handled 541 homicides in 2025, including 426 in the City of Chicago. Overall homicides fell more than 30% in Cook County from 2024 levels and by more than 50% from their peak in 2021. Cook County municipalities with the highest number of homicides in 2025 included Dolton with seven, Cicero and Harvey with six each and Chicago Heights with five. African Americans were the victims of 73% of homicides, and Latinos accounted for approximately 18% of homicide deaths. Males accounted for 83% of homicide deaths.

The number of homicide victims under the age of 18 was 57; 15 were under the age of 10.

Suicide deaths edged up slightly in Cook County in 2025. Males continue to make up approximately 80% of these deaths.

To access additional data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, please visit the Medical Examiner’s Case Archive Dashboard.