Prairie State Wire

A retiree of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is advocating for  legislation that would increase protections for DCFS workers.

Introduced on Feb. 10 in the Senate by Sen. Steve McClure (R-Chatham), Senate Bill 4165 would allow DCFS workers to carry self-protective devices including pepper spray on child neglect investigations. The bill would also require the Illinois State Police to establish a program to train DCFS workers in the use of such self-protective devices. 

Deanna Large, a retiree with nearly 30 years working with DCFS, voiced her support for the bill. 

"The time to adequately address the safety of child welfare workers is far overdue," Large said. "We issue staff phones and laptops to do their jobs, a self-defense tool such as Mace or pepper spray, that's just another tool. It is as essential as those phones and those laptops."

On Jan. 4, DCFS caseworker Diedre Silas was stabbed to death while performing a home visit in Thayer, according to CBS 2 Chicago News. The suspect, 32-year-old Benjamin Reed, was arrested later the same day.  

In 2017, DCFS agent Pamela Knight was severely beaten by Andrew Sucher while taking a 2-year-old into protective custody. The assault left her comatose and she later died of her injuries.

In response to the incident, state Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Sterling) re-introduced a bill in the House that would increase protections for DCFS workers. The bill has been dubbed "Pam's Bill."

"While Mace doesn’t resolve all of the issues of safety, it can provide a worker with a chance to escape a volatile situation. It’s a tangible immediate resource for them to use," Large said. "That Mace and the ability to carry that and use that with proper training could give us just the five or ten seconds we may need in order to escape that situation and then go back when we can be safer and serve that family."

SB4165 was co-sponsored by state Sens. Sally Turner (R-Lincoln) and Neil Anderson (R-Moline).

"I just want to say that I appreciate the senators and representatives for proposing this bill and supporting this bill because it's important," Large said. "The passage is essential and the decisiveness for this action to happen now is clear. It has to happen now so that we have immediate action to ensure the safety of workers in the field."

If passed, the bill would be effective immediately.