Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new Opioid Prevention and Intervention Task Force is touring Illinois to gather information about the opioid epidemic in the hopes of reducing the number of overdose deaths. The Task Force will host an event at 10 a.m. Friday at the Jefferson County Health Department at in Mt. Vernon.

According to task force co-chair Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti says the group is visiting communities to talk to health care providers, people who are suffering from opioid-use disorder and others. The informational session is part of a “listening tour” the Task Force is conducting across the state. Attendees will hear from health care providers, first responders, community organizations and residents impacted by opioid use.

Director Nirav D. Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, says the Task Force wants to learn what resources are available in different communities across the state and how they can work together to fight the opioid epidemic.

Friday’s session is open to the public.