Reis / Jones Town Hall Meetings - Update on the continued efforts to fight meth in our communities

September 8, 2008

Olney, IL.…State Representative David Reis and State Senator John O. Jones would like to announce two Town Hall Meetings to discuss the progress of the ongoing fight on the manufacturing of methamphetamine in Illinois.

The first will be held Thursday, September 18th from Noon to 1:30 pm at the Clay County Health Department in Flora. The Clay County Health Department is located at 601 E. 12th Street. in Flora.

The second will be held Thursday, September 18th from 5 pm to 6:30 pm at the Olney City Hall. Olney City Hall is located at 300 South Whittle in Olney.

Both meetings will feature Sgt. Eric Hall who is the Statewide Methamphetamine Coordinator for the Illinois State Police. Sgt. Hall will be updating everyone on a new developing concept that is designed to electronically link Illinois pharmacies together to better track the purchase of Sudafed, a key ingredient in the manufacturing of meth.

Currently, Illinois Law Enforcement officials must retrieve a list of purchases from each pharmacy and manually cross reference the lists to determine who is buying Sudafed in quantities large enough to be used in the production of methamphetamine. This new program will allow pharmacies to cross reference all purchases increasing the opportunity to catch those responsible in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

“We worked very hard back in 2005 to pass the current law requiring all Sudafed purchases to be made with a photo ID and logbook signatures,” said Reis. “It has turned out to be the most effective tool to date in the fight on meth. However, it’s now time to take it to the next level and allow our pharmacies to track these purchases “real time” to further aid our law enforcement officials in tracking these purchases.”

“We’ve made tremendous progress in slowing down the manufacturing of meth in our communities,” commented Jones. “These town hall meetings will allow us to update concerned citizens on the progress being made and to hear local concerns and ideas.”

Anyone is welcome to attend the town hall meetings. If you would like more information please contact Rep. Reis’ office at (618) 392-0108 or Senator Jones office at (618) 242-9511. Reservations are not required.