Rockford Sun

In a March 16 news release, Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) discussed a bill to address the fentanyl epidemic.  

“This bill will help save lives. Fentanyl is a deadly drug that is taking far too many lives and as we continue to take steps to address the opioid epidemic affecting Illinois families, our priority with this legislation is to single out fentanyl" McCombie said.

McCombie filed House Bill 3203 on Feb. 16. It would allow pharmacists to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter to the public to test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance. County Health Departments would be allowed to distribute these test strips for no fee, at their facilities. The bill would also change the Drug Paraphernalia Control Act, and the definition of "drug paraphernalia to NOT include equipment, products, or materials to analyze or test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance.

In January, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reported that it seized more than 18.3 million doses of fentanyl in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin in 2022.

“The Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division announced the seizure of 804,551 fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and over 549 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022," a statement read. "The DEA Laboratory estimates that these seizures represent more than 18.3 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl. The staggering amount of fentanyl seized by DEA agents throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin makes up a fraction of the 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder seized by the DEA throughout the United States last year. The DEA Laboratory estimates that these seizures represent over 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.”

McCombie sees solving these issues as part of her duty as a lawmaker. 

“As lawmakers, when we see a problem as deep as this one, it’s our public duty to try to solve it and I believe my bill is a viable first step forward in combatting this epidemic,” McCombie said.

McCombie was elected to represent the 71st District in 2016.

She is a lifelong resident of Savanna, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University. She owns and operates Blue Appraisals and is a real estate broker with MelFoster Company. Her previous political experience includes time as the mayor of Savanna, and as a council member on the Savanna City Council.