Lake County coroner reports drops in homicides, overdoses and faster case closures; outlines outreach plans

Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton and Coroner Jennifer Bannock told the Lake County Board Law & Judicial Committee on April 29 that the coroner's office saw modest declines in several categories of death in 2024 and has expanded prevention- and outreach-focused work.

The chief deputy said the office recorded a 1.7 percent decrease in deaths reported to the coroner's office last year and a 9.9 percent decline in cases over which the coroner took jurisdiction. "Unintentional drug overdoses in Lake County saw a 5% decrease last year over 2023. Our suicide rate dropped 4.8 percent. And our homicides dropped 34% last year over 2023," Newton said.

Why it matters: the coroner's office said it is using mapping dashboards and partnerships with public-health and community organizations to deploy prevention resources to geographic hotspots for overdoses, suicides, homicides and fatal crashes. The office also highlighted stronger case-management capacity and a push to reduce delays that affect families, estates and insurance claims.

Newton and Bannock outlined several operational developments. The office participates in multiple task forces (including the Lake County Opioid Initiative and the Lake County Suicide Prevention Task Force), expanded homicide and overdose mapping with county GIS, and increased collaborations with medical schools and paramedic training programs. The office received the 2024 Life Changer Award for outstanding teams from Gift of Hope after implementing a new system to streamline organ and tissue donation referrals; the change produced a large rise in referrals, the coroner said.

The coroner's office also reported internal process improvements. Newton said the office has maintained its headcount for several years and nonetheless reduced overtime by about 90% since 2020 while improving case closure performance. "Three years ago those case closure rates were hovering around the 30 fifth percentile within 60 days," he said. "Last year we successfully kept that above 90 percent at a 92.68 percent case closure rate within 60 days."

The office described near-term investments, including replacement of aging laboratory equipment before year-end through an existing vendor and preparations to pursue reaccreditation from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. Newton said the equipment upgrade could allow more testing in-house and bring cost savings.

Board members praised the coroner's public-health approach and asked about threats to partner funding. Member Kanishnik asked whether federal or state grant cuts could affect services; Newton said the coroner's office does not rely on grants for staffing and that some partner programs that accept federal funding could face constraints. Members also asked about naloxone (Narcan) access; Newton said opioid-only overdoses fell 16% from 2023 to 2024 and that continued distribution resources will be important.

The coroner said the office will continue expanding dashboards and community outreach, maintain partnerships for grief navigation (including the Missing Pieces grief navigator program for decedents 24 years old and younger) and support training for medical and paramedic students.