Some Central Illinois lawmakers are pushing for harsher punishments for selling fentanyl as the state sees a decline in opioid deaths.

There was 8.3% decrease in opioid overdoses, according to a statement released by the governor’s office. This also follows a national trend where fentanyl deaths decreased by 4% in 2023.

Regardless of these declines, some Illinois lawmakers say more punitive laws are necessary to keep fentanyl off the streets.

Republican Sen. Sally Turner , who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, has proposed a set of bills to combat fentanyl trafficking in the state.

The first bill would add harsher penalties for selling or distributing fentanyl in a detectable quantity. If caught, a person could face nine to 40 years in prison and possibly be fined up to $250,000. An additional measure would add more penalties for selling fentanyl on an electronic device.

Turner acknowledged that these laws might to be too punitive for the Democratic supermajority but said it’s necessary to combat fentanyl.

“This bill is tough, but we need to send a clear message,” Turner said. “If you traffic fentanyl in Illinois, you will face severe consequences. These bills are about holding people accountable who profit off of this poison, but we also need to make sure that we're providing resources to help those who are unwittingly victims of this crisis.”

Turner also supported a bill that would label fentanyl deaths as fentanyl poisoning rather than an overdose. Republican Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris said her bill is an attempt to remove the stigma associated with overdose deaths.

“Too many parents feel forced into silence because of the stigma surrounding an overdose death,” Rezin said. “As legislators, it's our responsibility to ensure that people who die from this poison are recognized as victims, not just another overdose death statistic.”

McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder joined the lawmakers at a news conference to advocate for the bills. Yoder has been a nurse practitioner for 20 years and has helped educate the community on overdose prevention.

Yoder said there were 22 deaths related to fentanyl last year in McLean County. They account for more than half of the overdose deaths in the county last year. In most cases, fentanyl was mixed with other drugs such as heroin, meth, cannabis and anxiety medicine, the coroner said.

Yoder said fentanyl mixed with drugs like Benzodiazepines or xylazine — which are meant to treat anxiety, depression and pain—makes the already dangerous drug resistant to the overdose reversal medicine Narcan.

“These illicit drugs are not opioids, thus Naloxone will not reverse,” Yoder said. “The sad reality means that Naloxone alone cannot solve this problem. We need a holistic approach that includes keeping these dangerous drugs off the street and holding those trafficking these drugs accountable in order to safeguard their unwitting victims the fentanyl crisis is a crisis for everyone in every community.”

Turner has tried passing this bill since she first got into office in 2021, but said there might be bipartisan support after talking to other female Senators last week.