Issue Position: Leading the Fight Against Meth

Issue Position

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has been one of the state's most consistent voices in the call to stem the methamphetamine epidemic. As the state's chief legal officer, Madigan stepped up to fill the role of a statewide coordinator and leader. She led the effort to completely rewrite the laws that deal with meth, to make them easier for police, prosecutors and judges to use and interpret. She drafted and advocated for legislation that makes it harder to buy key meth ingredients, and that increases the penalties for meth cooks and dealers. She has also had success as a prosecutor, winning convictions against major meth producers and providing training to law enforcement across the state.

Leading the Fight in Springfield: Drafting Strong, New Meth Laws

Attorney General Madigan has won several major legislative victories in the war on meth. She has made it more difficult to purchase key ingredients, easier to prosecute meth cooks and easier for local communities to clean up the hazardous waste sites they leave behind.

In 2003, she led the fight to pass legislation requiring meth cooks to pay for the cleanup of their dangerous, chemically contaminated laboratories. This legislation has the dual benefit of increasing the penalty for making meth, and easing the burden on local law enforcement to clean up the environmental catastrophe of a meth lab. Madigan also championed legislation to double the penalties for meth production when it endangers the lives of children, who are particularly susceptible to the toxic fumes of a meth lab.

In 2004, Attorney General Madigan advanced SB 2244, the Methamphetamine Manufacturing Chemical Retail Control Act, which imposed significant restrictions on the sale of key meth ingredients in Illinois. At the time, this legislation represented some of the strongest restrictions on meth precursor ingredients in the country. Illinois' border states responded by passing even stricter legislation. Continuing to work on this issue, in 2005 Madigan drafted SB 273, now law, which further restricted the sale of meth precursor ingredients and ensured that Illinois would not be the meth shopping mall of the Midwest.

Also in 2005, the Attorney General's Office took the extraordinary step of rewriting the major portions of the Illinois laws impacting meth prosecutions. The Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, drafted by Madigan's Office, combined and strengthened laws related to the production, distribution and use of meth. The Act simplified the law to make prosecutors' jobs easier, and increased the penalties for meth cooks.

Leading the fight in court: Convicting the "Meth Magician"

Attorney General Madigan also has been aggressive in taking the fight against meth out of the statehouse and into the courtroom. Her office is actively involved in meth prosecutions. For example, in November 2004, her office successfully convicted one of Illinois' most prominent meth cooks. Robert Steven Siverly, the "meth magician", was sentenced to 22 years in prison on multiple drug conspiracy charges.

Spreading the Word: Comprehensive Training for Law Enforcement and Farmers

In addition to enforcing the law, Madigan's office has held trainings for law enforcement and farmers across the state. Madigan's trainings for law enforcement have focused on best practices for investigating and prosecuting meth cases. Madigan's office is in the unique position of being able to learn from the experiences of all 102 counties in Illinois, and educate local law enforcement on the successes enjoyed by their counterparts across the state.

Farmers also have a significant role to play in the effort to stop meth, as the anhydrous ammonia they need for fertilizer is a key meth ingredient and hard to obtain elsewhere. For this reason, Madigan contacts all chemical and fertilizer dealers in the state, as well as major farm organizations, in advance of the spring planting season to remind them to secure anhydrous ammonia tanks. Madigan has also awarded grants to support the efforts of Illinois farm youth organizations to spread the word about the dangers of meth.

Source