Finance Chairman Ed Burke (14) is teaming up with Cook County Commissioner Richard R. Boykin to discuss the growing trend of heroin-related overdoses in Illinois. He’s holding a press conference this afternoon at City Hall to call for the creation of a joint City-County advisory task force to stem the epidemic. Donal Quinlan, Ald. Burke’s spokesperson, said Burke wanted to make sure the task force included the surrounding suburbs because the issue extends beyond the city’s borders.

Last year, 633 Illinoisans died from a heroin overdose, up from 583 in 2013. And according to a recent report from the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University, the Chicago metropolitan area ranked first in the nation for emergency room visits related to heroin use.

The press event comes hot on the heals of Boykin shutting down an ersatz campaign for U.S. Senate, which he ended earlier this week.