Posted by Michelle Manchir at 5:15 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD — Heroin dealers would face tougher penalties under legislation the Illinois House approved today.
The minimum sentence for possessing five grams of heroin with the intent to sell would jump from four years to six years under the measure. Right now, heroin dealers face the longer sentence if they’re convicted of having 15 grams or more.
Sponsoring Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst, said he wants to imprison distributors of heroin, which he said tends to be packaged and distributed in amounts far less than 15 grams.
Reboletti said the increasing popularity of the drug in the Chicago suburbs led him to take on the bill.
"These drug dealers are poisoning the community," said Reboletti, a former prosecutor. "They’re making huge profits."
Democrats protested the proposal loudest on the House floor today, saying the bill would only fill up prisons. Rep. Eddie Washington, D-Waukegan, said the proposal is shortsighted, failing to offer solutions for drug abuse like increased job availability and access to treatment.
"I am not for putting more people in American jails," Washington said. "The statistics that I get must be different from yours saying that it costs more to incarcerate than educate."
The measure passed 68-40 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.