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Public health presents local suicide data, highlights gun-safety and behavioral-health efforts
Summary
Public Health Department staff told the committee that suicide deaths in the county rose in 2024, described demographic patterns and prevention measures including gun-safety distribution, naloxone, 988 crisis resources, trainings and partnerships with local providers.
Kane County Public Health Department staff presented year-to-date suicide and self-harm data at the Sept. 17 Public Health Committee meeting and described prevention work the department is coordinating with local partners.
Why it matters: Suicide remains a leading cause of death across age groups; local data help officials and providers target prevention and crisis response resources.
Executive Director Michael Isaacson, citing coroner and emergency-department data compiled by county epidemiologists, said mortality data in the packet are current through Sept. 1 and that coroner figures count deaths that occur in Kane County (which may include nonresidents). Isaacson said the county saw a sharp uptick in suicide deaths in 2024 after a dip in 2023, and that year-to-date (through Sept. 1) there were 29 fatal suicides in 2025.
Isaacson summarized demographic patterns in the county’s data: the average age of suicide deaths was about 48; males accounted for roughly 79% of suicide deaths; age groups were distributed across adults with higher shares in the 25–64 range.
Methods data presented to the committee show firearms and poisoning/overdose among the leading mechanisms cited; Isaacson noted the department’s gun-safety initiative provides free gun safes and that delaying access to firearms can reduce fatal outcomes. He also pointed to naloxone distribution for overdose incidents, to the county’s behavioral health council and overdose task force, and to the state and local 988 crisis line as an available crisis resource.
Committee members discussed prevention messaging, training and how to reach youth on social media. Isaacson said the department has expanded mental-health-first-aid training capacity and is working with schools, law enforcement and community providers. He also compared county funding to DuPage County, saying DuPage allocates approximately $20 million annually in local tax revenue for public health while Kane County’s comparable local funding is about $2 million, a difference he said affects capacity to open crisis stabilization resources.
Board member Bill Tarver, who said he was invited to and participates in the county’s suicide-prevention task force, urged continued outreach to schools and veterans; other speakers described existing partnerships with NAMI, Suicide Prevention Services and Family Service Association of Greater Elgin for screening and post-crisis supports.
The presentation was informational. Staff discussed next steps including additional data sharing with the board, targeted trainings for board members and an offer to present a fuller review at a committee-of-the-whole meeting.
(Reporting note: mortality figures are provisional and derived from coroner and emergency-department reporting as described by staff.)
