West Central Reporter

Illinois State Sen. Steve McClure recently made comments about a bill to allow DCFS workers to carry pepper spray during a debate on the floor of the Illinois Senate. Senate Bill 1486 passed the Senate with 48 yes votes and zero no votes.

SB 1486 was a bipartisan bill being sponsored by members of both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

"This is a bill that was filed after my constituent Diedre Silas was brutally murdered by a man wielding a knife in rural Sangamon County," McClure said. "The current DCFS policy is that these folks are not allowed to carry any protective spray, mace, or pepper spray with them despite the fact that mace and pepper spray are legal for everyone in the state to carry if you’re 18 or older."

McClure then speculated on whether the passage of the bill could have altered the outcome of this situation. 

"I don’t know that this would have saved her life, but it could have and I suspect if this passes it will save someone’s life," McClure said. "What the bill does is it allows DCFS investigators only to have the option to carry mace if they pass a training that is put on by the Illinois State Police on how to use mace, when is the right time to use it, etc. AFSCME is fully in support of this bill." 

This bill was completed in February and then rewritten to enter the form that it is in today. One change was to put an enacting clause in the bill in order to include the Children and Family Services Act in the legislation.