South Central Reporter

Sen. Steve McClure shared a Facebook post on Apr.11 about taking part in a defensive pepper spray and situational awareness training course organized by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

"I got pepper sprayed on March 24th while I was participating in a new Illinois Department of Children and Family Services defensive pepper spray and situational awareness training course."

McClure has been a member of the Illinois General Assembly since 2019, representing the 54th Senate District. He is a lifelong Illinois resident, having attended Arizona State University for his undergraduate studies before returning to Illinois for his master's degree and later earning a law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana.

McClure introduced a bill, SB1486, in response to the murders of DCFS investigators. The newly offered course equips DCFS workers with a tool that has the potential to save lives while they perform their duty of safeguarding children in Illinois.

"The new course is available to frontline DCFS workers because of my bill, SB1486, that was signed into law last year," McClure said. "It was filed in response to the murders of DCFS investigators Deidre Silas and Pamela Knight."

In a Facebook post, he referred to Senate Bill 1486, which became Public Act 102-0990 on May 27, 2022. This bill allows DCFS workers to carry and use mace, pepper spray or pepper gas for self-defense purposes, provided they have completed a class on the use and recovery of these personal protection devices, taught by the Illinois State Police. The training program is funded by DCFS.

McClure's Facebook post acknowledged that the bill was introduced following the deaths of Diedre Silas and Pamela Knight, who were both performing their duties.

According to CBS News, Silas died from multiple stab wounds while on a home visit in Thayer, Illinois, on January 4, 2022, while Knight was fatally attacked while attempting to take a child into protective custody in September 2017.

Knight died five months after Andrew Sucher pushed her to the ground and allegedly kicked her in the head, fracturing her skull and causing brain damage as reported by News Channel 20.

"Both were killed while performing their jobs protecting the children of Illinois," McClure said. "With the new law in effect, DCFS workers that complete this course can carry pepper spray on the job, offering them a new and potentially lifesaving tool to protect themselves."