Elected officials and advocates called for empathy Monday toward people with substance abuse disorders and increased options for treating and preventing opioid overdoses. [Chicago Tribune]

In his address to the crowd of volunteers, supporters and onlookers in Chicago’s Federal Plaza ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson repeated his campaign promise on so-called Treatment Not Trauma and called for a “public health approach” to reduce opioid deaths in Chicago.

“We must not criminalize and further harm our brothers and sisters in need,” Johnson said before dozens of volunteers and bystanders. “Substance use and abuse ... creates a ripple effect of devastation in our families and neighborhoods.”

“We must extend care,” he added, “not judgment.”

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