The amount of public funding allocated to public health in the U.S. has decreased significantly over the past two decades—excluding temporary increases for the COVID-19 pandemic response. This trend in public health funding affects both local and state health departments nationwide, including local health departments in Illinois. Between June 2020 and December 2021, Health & Medicine staff reviewed local health department capacity data from the National Association for County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) 2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments (LHDs) report for nine health departments and interviewed representatives from five local health departments to compare the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) to some of their peers’ overall funding, staffing, and functions, and provide recommendations. This analysis purposely focused on 2019 data in order to ascertain funding before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to large, temporary influxes of funding for health departments, and this study sought to focus on and compare pre-pandemic funding, capacity, and function of local health departments. Read the full analysis here.

December 2, 2021 Testimony by Policy Director Wesley Epplin on behalf of Health & Medicine Policy Research Group and the Collaborative for Health Equity Cook County at the #StopGeneralIron campaign press conference.

Advancing health equity is Health & Medicine Policy Research Group’s mission. As part of that mission, Health & Medicine supports the growing call to defund and abolish the police. As a matter of public health, Health & Medicine joins our voice to the demand for local, state, and federal governments to defund and abolish the police.