State Senator Sue Rezin unveils legislation to battle fentanyl epidemic

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin, along with State Senator Sally Turner, have unveiled legislation that creates new offenses and penalties for those who engage in distributing and selling the powerful drug, fentanyl. Senate Bill 4221 would create a new Class X felony requiring nine to 40 years in prison for unlawfully selling or dispensing any scheduled drug, like Adderall or Vicodin, that contains a detectable amount of fentanyl. Additionally, the bill would also create a new Class 1 felony for anyone using an electronic device for trafficking a substance containing any amount of fentanyl.
“Nationally, nearly 70,000 people 18 and older died in 2021 from synthetic opioid-related incidents, with 90 percent of those being fentanyl-related. That is equivalent to one plane crashing each and every day,” said Senator Sue Rezin.