House Minority Leader Tony McCombie is spearheading a new podcast series called Capitol Crimes, to chronicle the stories behind legislation introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives. Listeners will hear from the sponsors of legislation that was crafted to keep Illinoisans safe and state government accountable as well as the perspective from the witnesses and experts. Capitol Crimes’ host Dean Abbott will unpack the ‘why’ of the legislation while telling the story of the legislative measures and, what happened to those measures after they were filed in the House of Representatives.
The first episode of Capitol Crimes was released today, and features Leader McCombie discussing “The Pam Knight Story.” Pam Knight, a child protection specialist for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was murdered while on duty, working to help protect a child in need. Despite this brutal tragedy that rocked the state, McCombie has battled for five years to pass legislation that would better protect DCFS caseworkers from violence on the job, yet those bills have shockingly failed to pass and become law.
This year, McCombie has continued the fight to enact legislation that would give DCFS workers the kinds of on-the-job protections provided by law for police officers and other public servants in volatile situations. She encourages anyone curious about the Pam Knight case, or asking why something has not been done yet to prevent horrific acts like this from happening again, to tune into today’s first episode. “I am pleased to get this podcast out into the world, to make sure people hear the story of Pam Knight, which will help garner support for essential legislation we must pass to make sure tragedies like this never happen again,” said McCombie
Leader McCombie’s legislation includes HB1460 and HB1461 which will heighten the penalties against anyone who commits aggravated battery toward a person working as a DCFS employee or working under the Adult Protective Services Program with the Department on Aging.
“Supporting our DCFS workers does not just mean attending their funerals,” continued McCombie. “It means doing everything within our power to make sure those funerals never happen in the first place.”
Capitol Crimes will release a new episode each Monday for the following two weeks, after which listeners can expect thoughtful and compelling episodes each month. Tune in to listen to the Pam Knight Story here: https://soundcloud.com/capitol-crimes/pam-knight-story?si=542047be97ed4a95bae5099e13408e25&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing.