STATE TO KEEP LIST OF METH MAKERS

The names of people convicted of manufacturing the dangerous street
drug known as meth will now be listed on an Internet registry
maintained by State Police.

Gov. Blagojevich on Sunday signed a law authorizing the creation of a
list of methamphetamine makers, which will include the person's age,
offense, conviction date and the county where the drug arrest was made.

Once the registry is compiled and put online, it will provide police
and the public with "one-stop shopping" for finding out if someone
has previously been involved in the meth-making business.

"A landlord could use this [registry] to see if people who apply to
rent a place have been involved with meth manufacturing before,"
Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.

The governor also signed three other bills into law aimed at helping
police catch bathtub pharmacists making meth, a powerful, highly
addictive stimulant.

"These laws make it easier to track meth crimes, and help us
prosecute people who are continuing to make and sell meth, especially
in areas where meth has become a problem -- particularly in more
rural communities," Ottenhoff said.

Tougher penalties

Meth has become a growing problem in Illinois. In 1997, police raided
24 meth labs. In 2005, police had shut down 973, according to state records.

In January a law went into effect requiring people to show
identification and sign a log when buying cold medicine containing
meth ingredients in Illinois.

The other three new meth-related laws, which go into effect
immediately, aim to increase punishments for people circumventing that law by:

*Doubling the penalty for meth trafficking, or bringing the
ingredients to make meth -- ephedrine or pseudoephedrine -- into the
state with intent to sell, deliver or make the drug.

*Boosting prison penalties to up to 15 years in jail for people
convicted of engaging in identification theft to purchase meth
ingredients. The state requires people show ID and sign a log to
purchase cold medicine that contains meth ingredients.

*A third law also allows hospitals to report suspicious burn injuries
believed to be caused by making meth. Hospital staff can report the
person's name, address and type of suspicious burn to a state fire
marshal hotline. That information will be turned over to local
investigators, according to the law.

"Methamphetamine is one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs on
the streets . . . We need to do everything possible to put a stop to
the scourge of meth," Blagojevich said in a statement.