Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 Source: Quad-City Times (IA) Copyright: 2001 Quad-City Times Contact: 500 E. Third St., Davenport, IA 52801 Fax: (319) 383-2370 Feedback: http://www.qctimes.com/write_edletter/writeletter.html Website: http://www.qctimes.com/ Author: Richard Goldstein BILL WOULD HEIGHTEN METH MAKING PENALTY SPRINGFIELD, IL-- A new bill would increase the penalties for methamphetamine producers whose toxic and volatile labs injure emergency workers, a Quad-City region legislator said Thursday. Rep. Donald Moffitt, R-Gilson, said he has a personal reason for sponsoring the bill. A few weeks ago, the Knoxville Community Fire District responded to a house fire in rural Gilson, he said. "The firefighters were en route. Someone called with a tip and said tell the firefighters not to go in that house. There could be some funny things happen," he said. "My friends, my neighbors, my constituents and my son were en route to that fire, and had they gone in and treated it like a normal situation -- a house is burning out in the country -- they could have been exposed to some very bad things." Methamphetamine labs contain ingredients such as red phosphorous, which can explode when mixed with water, and anhydrous ammonia, which can harm the lungs. The legislation provides for an extended prison sentence if a firefighter, police officer or other emergency worker is injured while coping with a methamphetamine lab. Moffitt said the provision would effectively allow a judge to double the prison sentence under laws prohibiting methamphetamine. "If emergency personnel are hurt or killed, it's going to be on the head and shoulders of the person committing the crime," Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said. Legislators, firefighters and law enforcement officers who attended a news conference in the Illinois Capitol could not say how many emergency workers in the state had been hurt fighting fires or cleaning up meth labs. But they did cite statistics showing a sharp increase in methamphetamine labs discovered in the state. In 1997, the Illinois State Police reported 24 labs were discovered. Through Dec. 20, 2000, the state police reported 336 labs had been found. - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer