An area lawmaker is pushing for tougher penalties to crack down on what she calls an epidemic of overdose deaths connected to the powerful drug fentanyl.
Republican state Senator Sally Turner of Lincoln is a co-sponsor of the legislation. Senate Bill 4221 would create a new Class X felony for anyone who sells or dispenses a controlled substance that contains a detectable amount of fentanyl. It would also create a Class 1 felony for anyone using an electronic communications device to conduct trafficking of substances containing fentanyl.
Deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl have soared in Illinois, from fewer than 100 a decade ago to more than 26-hundred last year.
