* Jeanne Ives campaign…

This week, Sean Casten voted against a bipartisan measure to extend a federal ban on the illegal sale of fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that in one year killed over 32,000 Americans.

The opioid crisis is destroying lives and hurting families across the nation, and has created additional pressures on the law enforcement community. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that in one year killed over 32,000 Americans, and nearly 1,300 in Illinois. The measure may not be a permanent solution, but it protects communities until a more meaningful solution to the overdose crisis can be found.

Sean Casten, apparently, is not concerned with protecting vulnerable communities. Had the vote gone his way, Fentanyl would no longer be treated as a Schedule 1 Drug (a drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse). This means it would have been substantially harder for federal law enforcement to prosecute those who deal drugs that are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths over the past several years.

To be clear, a study by the RAND Corporation found, “The sudden appearance of the drug fentanyl in the US has driven up overdose deaths dramatically…”

“Sean Casten truly represents the extreme left-wing of the Democrat base,” Ives said. “His reason for voting against this common sense measure was his worry that street dealers would be over prosecuted. It is because of radicals like him that Democrats are becoming the party of lawlessness and anarchy. We have to wonder: What will be the next law Casten won’t want enforced? How will he tie law enforcement’s hands next?

“He supports sanctuary city policies, which prevent violent criminals - in the country illegally - from being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He advocates more gun control laws, but won’t hold Kim Foxx accountable for refusing to prosecute gun crimes in Chicago. Now, he protects drug dealers rather than the families in his district.”

Want to see where this ends? Just look at the city that made ‘Jussie Smollett’ a household name: Chicago - a deep blue sanctuary city inside a sanctuary state. According to areavibes.com, Chicago’s rate of crime averages 79% higher than the rest of Illinois while the rate of crime on a national scale is 62% higher than. The occurrence of violent crime in Chicago is 149% higher than the average rate of crime in Illinois and 164% higher than the rest of the nation. Similarly, crime involving property stands 65% higher than the remainder of the state of Illinois and 45% higher than the nation’s average.

“It’s no blueprint for the rest of the country,” Ives continued. “And Sean Casten is no representative of the Sixth District.”

Um, that would be the kitchen sink in its entirety. Plus the refrigerator.

* Greg Hinz…

In a phone interview, Casten said voting for the bill, which would put into federal law a temporary fentanyl ban that was imposed administratively, might have helped him get a few votes at election time. But, “I’m not in this job because I’m a politician,” he added. “I’m in it for policy.”

“You can’t find any instance in history where criminalizing a drug has prevented its use,” Casten continued. “Until we invest in rehabilitation and treatment, we’re not going to solve the problem,” and the bill did not fund such efforts. […]

“The opioid crisis has been ravaging communities across the country, and fentanyl in particular poses a grave national threat that I take extremely seriously as the vice chair of the Homeland Security Committee,” said [US Rep. Lauren Underwood]. “While I am supportive of expanding law enforcement’s ability to quickly go after new fentanyl analogues, it must be paired with a strong, comprehensive public health approach to the opioid crisis that includes access to treatment and giving judges the sentencing discretion to make the best decisions for communities on a case-by-case basis.”

Another congresswoman who opposed the legislation, Matteson’s Robin Kelly, said the bill should have contained an exemption for medical research and should not have included mandatory minimum sentences.