Bills propose arming DCFS workers, reinstating death penalty for killing police

Two Republican state lawmakers from northwest Illinois introduced legislation Wednesday they said is in response to the line-of-duty deaths of workers from the Department of Children and Family Services and other first responders.

State Rep. Tony McCombie of the 71st District has a package of bills for the 102nd General Assembly’s spring session, including one that allows caseworkers to be armed in the course of their duties.

She said hers is in direct response to the Jan. 4 death of Deidre Silas, who was stabbed during a visit in Thayer and the Feb. 8, 2018, slaying of Pam Sue Knight of Dixon.

State Sen. Neil Anderson of the 36th District filed a bill to reinstate the death penalty for individuals found guilty of killing first responders. McCombie’s package also includes a death-penalty provision.

“Children and adult protective services caseworkers and investigators deserve the same worker safety protections as other first responders in the performance of their, too seldom recognized, life-saving duties,” McCombie said in a news release.

McCombie’s proposals:

House Bill 4636: Allows DCFS caseworkers to carry concealed handguns and sets training requirements.

HB 4637: Reinstates the death penalty for adults in the killing of police officers, firefighters and workers in the areas of child or adult protective services and those who supervise sexually violent persons.

HSB 3933: Clarifies that an attack against a DCFS or Adult Protective Services workers is the same as attacking a firefighter or teacher.

The intent of that last bill has been one the House Republicans have advocated for since the Knight slaying, McCombie said.

Anderson’s proposal, Senate Bill 3125, extends first responder language to include police, firefighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance drivers, first-aid personnel, employees of the Department of Corrections and other similar agencies.

“These are people who wake up every day to serve and protect our communities, the people on our streets, our homes and our loved ones,” Anderson said in a news release. “We owe it to the first responder community to make sure that anyone who attacks them is held accountable to the highest possible level.”

Anderson notes that 27 states have death-penalty sentences for the killing of a police officer. Former Republican Gov. George Ryan imposed a moratorium on Illinois state executions in 2003 before commuting all death sentences to life in prison. Illinois lawmakers, under Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, later abolished the death penalty in 2011.

The Associated Press contributed.