Morgan County sees 27 fentanyl deaths, officials urge anonymous tips

Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson said fentanyl has claimed 27 lives in the county over the past five years, a toll that has already included six overdose deaths in 2025. Patterson said every overdose death she has handled in Morgan County has involved fentanyl, a stark sign that the drug is driving the county’s entire overdose crisis.

The year-by-year numbers show how steady the loss has been: five overdose deaths in 2021, three in 2022, eight in 2023, five in 2024 and six in 2025. In west-central Illinois, where Jacksonville is the county seat and many families know the coroner by name, the message from Patterson and other officials is that fentanyl is not a distant threat. It is already in the county, and it is killing people in small amounts that can be lethal, especially when mixed with methamphetamine.

Officials are urging residents who know where fentanyl is being sold or used to pass along anonymous tips. Crime Stoppers is offering rewards of up to $2,500 for information that leads to arrests, part of a broader effort to remove dealers from the street before another overdose turns fatal. Morgan County has not formally joined the Crime Stoppers push that Sangamon County launched, but the public-safety goal is the same: use local information to interrupt the supply chain and save lives.

Families also have options to reduce risk right now. The Illinois Department of Human Services says organizations can order free Narcan for community distribution through its Drug Overdose Prevention Program, and the Illinois Department of Public Health says pharmacies, schools, public libraries and overdose education and naloxone distribution programs can obtain and dispense naloxone or nalmefene under the state standing order. Public-health officials say naloxone is safe and effective at reversing overdoses, giving relatives, neighbors and first responders a critical tool when seconds matter.

The county’s numbers are unfolding in a statewide crisis that remains severe even as some measures have improved. The Illinois Department of Public Health says synthetic opioid deaths have increased 3,341% since 2013, and Illinois recorded 3,261 opioid overdose fatalities in 2022. A January 2025 state report showed opioid-involved deaths fell 9.7% from 2022 to 2023 and synthetic opioid deaths fell 9.5%, but opioids still accounted for 82% of overdose deaths. Patterson, whose current term runs from Dec. 1, 2024, through Nov. 30, 2028, has made clear that Morgan County’s fight is still immediate, local and deadly.