Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer wants more transparency in relation to the next fiscal budget. | Courtesy Photo
Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer wants more transparency in relation to the next fiscal budget. | Courtesy Photo
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) is paying tribute to fallen Department of Children and Family Service workers Deidre Silas.
“No words can express the loss of a person working to protect children from abuse and poor conditions,” Davidsmeyer said in a post to Facebook. “My prayers go out to her family and all those who are working to protect children from bad situations."
New legislation now pending in the Illinois General Assembly would increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes against Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) employees by granting them the same protections as police, firefighters, private security employees, correction officers and community policing volunteers.
Known as the Knight-Silas Bill, the legislation comes in the wake of caseworkers Silas and Pam Knight both being killed while on the job. The measure also allows for a person who causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to a DCFS employee to be charged with a more serious Class 1 felony as opposed to a Class 3.
Authorities have charged 32-year-old Benjamin Reed with first degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the connection with the violence. Silas' death comes more than four years after Whiteside County DCFS worker Knight was beaten during a welfare check in Milledgeville on Sept. 29, 2017. She died of her injuries months later. Knight's attacker, Andrew Sucher, signed a plea deal for 21 years in jail with no parole.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expressing support for the newly proposed bill.
“These professionals do everything in their power to protect children, so it’s time for the legal system to treat them like the first responders they are,” Pritzker said. “I’m working with the General Assembly to enhance the penalties for adults who harm DCFS workers to align with the protections for other first responders – in honor of Deidre Silas, in honor of Pam Knight, in honor of all our DCFS employees, and in honor of all who live in service to others.”
Under current Illinois law, anyone who commits physical crimes against a DCFS employee is charged with aggravated battery regardless of the harm and damage done.
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