Rockford Sun

In a Facebook post on Mar. 18 Rep. Jeff Keicher announced that he is co-sponsoring legislation that focuses on fentanyl strip access.

"I’m optimistic that the work we are doing to have greater access to fentanyl strips with Tony McCombie and the other Illinois House Republicans will save lives!!" Keicher wrote.

Jeff Keicher is a Republican state representative who resides in DeKalb, according to the Illinois House. He was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018. His experience with legislation includes serving on the Appropriations-Higher Education and Immigration & Human Rights Committee.

According to the Illinois General Assembly, Keicher has signed on as a co-sponsor to House Bill 3203. The Bill will aid in combatting the Fentanyl epidemic.

In his Facebook post, Rep. Keicher shared the 25 News article about the bill. House Bill 3203 passed from committee with bipartisan support last week. Currently, it's waiting to be debated on the House floor.

The Fentanyl epidemic has been ongoing. It has resulted in deaths across the nation. In a press release to announce Keicher's co-sponsoring, he spoke about the effects of Fentanyl on the community.

"I don’t want to have any spouse, sibling, child or cousin to have to encounter their loved one dying from Fentanyl," Keicher said. "This legislation is critical to the protection of our people on the front end before we have death or before we have a tragedy."

In addition, House Bill 3203 would allow pharmacists to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter to the public to test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analog or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance.

"Life circumstance often puts people in a position where they think this is the avenue and this is a solution," Keicher said. "But many times they’re seeking that high or to maintain their ability to not go through withdrawal.

County health departments will be able to distribute these strips at the health department facility free of charge. The fentanyl test strips would not be considered drug paraphernalia.

"Making Fentanyl strips readily available for purchase will ensure that our loved ones, our community members, and those that are seeking relief are able to be here and hopefully one day find their relief through the proper mechanisms,” Keicher said.