Rock Island Today

State Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Sterling) is pushing a bill to help keep Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) workers safe as they do their jobs.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Sally Turner (R-Beason) and Steve McClure (R-Springfield) would allow DCFS case workers to carry pepper spray while on the job.   

“This is not the first time, the second time, the third time, or even the fourth time I have sat at this podium and talked about this issue,” McCombie said during a Feb. 15 news conference. “We've been doing this, I’ve been doing this since Pam Knight was brutally beaten and murdered in my district. We are long overdue to actually bring forth legislation that is going to hopefully protect our DCFS caseworkers who are putting their lives at risk to serve our most vulnerable families.”

With two DCFS investigators having been killed on the job over the last 48 months, McCombie is in support of Senate Bill 4165, which would also require Illinois State Police to develop a training program for DCFS staffers.

“We were just talking about some of these on the way down,” McCombie said. “DCFS has a bill that has been brought forward for them to activate their law enforcement capabilities. I have a bill for DCFS caseworkers to allow for them to conceal carry. It’s a pretty big bill and I'm not sure if it's even something that they want, but we have to give them something, to have a tool, for when they're out knocking on these doors protecting us. Whether it's a different radio system, I think that's something that we can learn from our local law enforcement now.”

“There's been a lot of talk since the brutal beating in the murder of Pam but there's been very few corrective actions actually put in place,” McCombie said. “Supporting our DCFS workers does not just mean attending their funerals, it means doing everything within our power to make sure those funerals never happen in the first place. Government's number one goal is to protect Illinoisans and this administration is failing on many levels. DCFS workers are walking into emotional and volatile situations and they must have support.”

In 2017, DCFS staffer Pamela Knight was severely beaten while visiting a Midgeville home to take a 2-year-old girl into protective custody. Knight died from her injuries after several months in a coma. Andrew Sucher was charged in the case and eventually signed a plea deal for 21-years in jail with no parole.

According to WQAD, Sucher is now seeking clemency, with Knight’s husband, Don, pushing hard for the governor to reject the request.

McCombie is also heading up a group of seven bipartisan legislators supporting Knight’s request.

“No I don't think he deserves mercy,” she said. “He showed no mercy with Pam.”

Don Knight said current laws do not go far enough in making certain that DCFS social workers are protected while on the job.

“What I want to know is what was his reason for wanting to get out,” he said. “Bottom line for the family is 21 years isn't long enough and there’s no way he should get out any earlier than that.”

McCombie has also reintroduced a bill in the House that would increase protections for DCFS workers by increasing the sentence for someone convicted of assaulting a worker on the job to ten years. The measure would also make the punishment the same as that administered for an attack on a police officer, firefighter or teacher. The measure previously passed the House in 2019, but ultimately stalled in the Senate.

“We don't want people to murder those who are put on the front lines to protect our most vulnerable,” McCombie said. “They need to be punished for that, absolutely need to be punished for that. It’s Pam’s bill, that is a call to protect those who are serving those most vulnerable, children and families.”

In January, 36-year-old Diedre Silas was stabbed to death while performing a home visit at a residence in Thayer.

Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office officials said they arrived at the scene to find Silas dead inside with home six young children around, none of whom witnessed the attack.

While Barrie Graham told CBS Chicago her daughter loved the work she did, her father, Roy, said he doesn’t believe his daughter is receiving the kind of respect shown to other public servants who die in the line of duty.

Police have since charged 32-year-old Benjamin Reed with first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.