Top 30 Alcohol & Drug Rehab Centers in Aurora, IL & Free Treatment Resources

The city of Aurora rests in several counties, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will. Here are some recent statistics regarding drug and alcohol use in these counties, according to the Center for Disease Control:¹

Between 2018 and 2020, the number of drug overdose deaths rose by 9.7%.

During the same time period, alcohol overdoses rose 33%.

Will County had the highest drug overdose rate of all the counties in 2018 at 91 per 100,000 citizens

Kane County’s alcohol overdose deaths grew 40% to 24 people per 100,000 residents.

Your costs for rehab will vary based on factors such as whether you have insurance, what type of care you need, and for how long.

Choosing residential drug rehabs in Aurora usually means paying more for care, depending on your access to insurance or low-cost programs. If you want to lower your costs, you can look for an outpatient program that offers daily or weekly treatment instead of 24/7 therapy.

For people with limited incomes, there is a range of options we can use to pay for treatment. Free options for rehab are usually found in non-profit organizations and through state agencies. They offer programs such as scholarships, where some or all your care costs are covered thanks to public and government funding. This option is typically reserved for people with the highest level of need who have no other ways to pay.

You might also see sliding-fee scales, which lower your cost to enter the program, depending on your income and other factors.

One of the best ways to access treatment for “free” is by using your health insurance coverage. Whether you have health insurance through your employer or the healthcare marketplace, you can call the number on the back of your insurance card to speak with an agent that can direct you to a rehab provider that’s in your network. Another option, if you’re among the millions of Americans that don’t have insurance, is to look for a medical loan or try crowdfunding. Additionally, some Aurora drug rehabs offer financing options such as payment plans.

Private Insurance: By law, all insurance companies must provide at least some coverage for substance abuse treatment. However, each plan differs, so Illinois residents must contact their providers to discover precisely what is covered by their plan. Deductibles and copays may apply.

Illinois Medicaid: Illinois Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for low-income individuals and families. To be eligible, Illinois residents must be a U.S. national, citizen, permanent resident, or legal alien, in need of health care/insurance assistance, and characterized as low income. They must also be either pregnant, responsible for a child 18 years or younger, blind, have a disability or family member with a disability, or be 65 years or older. 

Illinois Medicare: Medicare is a federal health insurance program that provides coverage for Illinois residents aged 65 and older, as well as individuals with certain disabilities. Some forms of addiction treatment are covered under Medicare Part A, while other services are covered under Part B. Not all rehabilitation facilities accept Medicare as a form of payment, so it’s important to confirm Medicare acceptance before starting a program. 

TRICARE in Illinois: TRICARE in Illinois provides health insurance coverage for U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their families. This includes substance use disorder treatment services; however, plans differ in their specific coverage. 

Medical Detox: Detox is the process of safely clearing your system of all drugs and alcohol. It occurs in a supervised setting to manage withdrawal symptoms. This process is often necessary before Illinois residents can enter a formal program. 

Inpatient: Residential or inpatient care is the most intensive setting, involving 24/7 care. Medication, individual and family therapy, and recreational therapy are common forms of treatment at this level. 

Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHPs): In a PHP, participants receive much of the same services as an inpatient program, but they return home during non-treatment times.

Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs): IOPs are a step down from PHPs. These programs provide several hours of care over several days per week. Treatment usually includes individual and group therapy. 

Standard Outpatient: Standard outpatient programs are the least intensive level of care. They require only two or three hours of care per week, usually at an outpatient clinic or therapist’s office. This option is appropriate for those with a strong support system who are highly motivated. 

Aftercare: Also called relapse prevention, aftercare is focused on providing ongoing support for continued sobriety once a program is complete. Aftercare can include 12-step meetings, transitional housing, therapy, and other supports.

One question to ask is what cities have the most funds for programs and where the facility you want to go to is located. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there are six addiction treatment centers within five miles of downtown Aurora, but 34 within 15 miles of the city center.²

Aside from being home to your preferred rehab, other reasons to move to Aurora are its low crime rate compared to other areas near Chicago and its high number of employment opportunities. People here also enjoy abundant cultural attractions such as Cantigny Park, Phillips Park Zoo, and the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple.

Where you decide to live while attending care depends on factors such as your lifestyle preferences, your budget, and the location of the facility you want to go to. Most rehab centers and detox centers in Aurora are in the center of town, near Downtown Aurora. This part of town is home to plenty of outdoor spaces and fun local amenities, including the RiverEdge Park, the Aurora Country Club, and the zoo.

People with tons of energy love to hang out at the Sky Zone Trampoline Park on the east side of Aurora. This park in town also has a popular basketball park and several nature reserves. There are also plenty of places to shop and work in the area.

There are a few different laws in Illinois to help deal with different aspects of the drug epidemic.

Employee Sick Leave Law: For people in the state that have a job with paid time off as a benefit, the sick leave law requires employers to allow those employees to use their PTO to care for a relative. This can mean a spouse, partner, parent, child, or another person that depends on you for care when they’re sick. Under this law, you could use your sick leave to help pay for your treatment or to take time off to take care of your home while your partner seeks rehab.

Involuntary Treatment Law: Illinois is one of the few states with laws allowing people to be forced into rehab, barring certain requirements.⁴ If a person over 18 is suffering from an alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder and poses a health threat to themselves or a threat to others, they can be committed by the courts.

Naloxone Access Order: The Naloxone Access Order is a statewide standing order that opens up access to Naloxone without a prescription for people that may encounter someone who needs overdose reversal medication.⁵ This includes overdose response organizations, emergency personnel, health service workers, and friends and family of people that use opiate medications or illicit drugs.

Illinois Good Samaritan Law: This law protects people from prosecution for carrying illegal drugs or paraphernalia if they reach out for emergency services to help with an overdose.⁵ Good Samaritan laws are designed to encourage people to call 911 when witnessing an overdose, even if they’re participating in illegal activity.

Illinois Public Act 100-0564: The Public Act requires opiate-prescribing doctors to register new prescriptions in a controlled substances database.⁵ This is to help prevent doctor shopping, acquiring multiple prescriptions for opiates from different doctors, and doctor hopping, which is visiting nearby localities to get another opiate prescription.

1. Aurora, Illinois Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs). (n.d.). Worldpopulationreview.com.
2. Data and Reporting. (n.d.). Dph.illinois.gov. 
3. FindTreatment.gov. (n.d.). FindTreatment.gov. 
4. Center for Disease Control. (2022). CDC Wonder.
5. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Treatment Locator Map.
6. Illinois Department of Labor. (2022). Employee Sick Leave Act FAQs.
7. Illinois General Assembly. (January 10, 2017). DHS – Involuntary Treatment.
8. Illinois Department of Public Health. (2022). Opioid Overdose Response