Reps. Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood Blasted for Opposing Life-Saving Bipartisan Legislation

Reps. Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood Blasted for Opposing Life-Saving Bipartisan Legislation

For Illinois Democratic Representatives Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood, even an epidemic that killed 1,187 Illinoisans in one year wasn’t enough to put politics aside.

February 7, 2020
Reps. Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood Blasted for Opposing Life-Saving Bipartisan Legislation

Even in today’s polarized political climate, there are certain issues that transcend politics and bring Republicans and Democrats together. The opioid epidemic is certainly one of those issues.

But for Illinois Democratic Representatives Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood, even an epidemic that killed 1,187 Illinoisans in one year wasn’t enough to put politics aside. Today, the Chicago Tribune editorial board excoriated Casten and Underwood for voting against legislation that extended a ban on fentanyl, which unanimously passed the Senate.

Chicago Tribune: “The most dangerous illegal drug in America” is what the RAND Corp. think tank calls it. Heroin? Meth? Cocaine? No, it’s fentanyl. The synthetic opioid prescription painkiller, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, has made its way into the illicit drug market. Overdose deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids jumped tenfold between 2013 and 2018.”

Rep. Casten attempted to explain his vote, which was characterized in the editorial as “perplexing.”

Casten: “You can’t find any instance in history where criminalizing a drug has prevented its use.”

The Tribune: “But that’s no reason to ease off on efforts to curb the supply. Most of the fentanyl variants come from producers in China. The administration won a notable success last year when it persuaded the Chinese government to outlaw all fentanyl-related compounds. In turn, it only makes sense for the U.S. to preserve its own prohibition.”

There is no excuse for Illinois Democrats voting to block this commonsense legislation. In their frantic rush to oppose everything President Trump does, they’re hurting the very people they took an oath to serve.