SPRINGFIELD — An investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was stabbed to death while checking on a report of a child in danger Tuesday at a home in central Illinois.

       Deidre Silas, 36, had joined DCFS in August and had “dedicated her career to helping young people,” according to a statement from her employee union.

       A suspect was later arrested and could face first-degree murder and aggravated battery charges, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said in a prepared statement.

       Sangamon County emergency dispatch received a 911 call about 4:10 p.m. Tuesday about the stabbing at a home in Thayer, Ill., a small town about 25 miles southwest of Springfield. Police from at least four law enforcement agencies went to the scene, where Silas was found dead inside the home, Campbell said.

       The suspect, meanwhile, was found by police at a hospital in Decatur. He was treated for a minor wound and transported to the Sangamon County Jail.

       Before becoming a DCFS investigator, Silas worked in the behavioral health field, according to her union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.

       “This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress,” AFSCME’s executive director, Roberta Lynch, said in a statement. “AFSCME will carefully study the facts of this incident as they emerge and press for any necessary changes to DCFS operations. One death in the line of service is too many.”

       “The hearts and thoughts of every AFSCME member are with Deidre’s loved ones, especially her children, in the wake of their profound and senseless loss,” Lynch also said.

       Gov. J.B. Pritzker also praised Silas as “a hero, taken from us in the line of duty.”

       “There is no higher calling than the work to keep children and families safe and Deidre lived that value every single day,” the governor said in a statement. “Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve.”

       On Thursday, Pritzker announced he has backed proposed legislation that would enhance penalties for someone who attacks and badly injures a DCFS worker.

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