Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A Sangamon County woman’s story helped inspire legislation that would tighten penalties for domestic abusers and do more to keep suspects away from victims.

Dakota Sebring (pictured) told reporters Thursday her attacker was sent to jail for thirty days.

“Hearing this, I had faith in our system that myself and my daughter would be safe and have civility after this,” Sebring told a Capitol news conference, “but instead, what occurred after this was none other than repeated violations of the order of protection over and over and over again.”

Among the proposals: making violating an order of protection a felony; and encouraging judges to place a 48-hour hold on those suspected of domestic violence.

Senate Minority Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) is optimistic, as the issue is non-partisan.

“My hope is we’re going to get a thorough discussion and hearing in the Criminal Law Committee,” said Curran. “There’s other members of the Republican Senate, and there are Democratic proposals on domestic violence.

“This is at a crisis point right now.”

State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), who said Sebring approached him about the problem, said, “according to the Illinois Coalition against Domestic Violence, from 2022 to 2024, deaths from domestic violence increased by 140 percent.”

Curran says he has been in touch with the chairman of the Senate Criminal Law Committee.