BLOOMINGTON -- Susan Eades recognized the look in her boyfriend's eyes that day in May when he came by the Turnberry Village apartment they once shared.

It was the look he had the previous August when he put a knife to her neck. It was the look he had last November when he hit, shoved and choked her.

"He's a recovering alcoholic," Eades said of her former boyfriend of seven years. "He had fallen off the wagon and probably was on drugs."

Eades was lucky the first two times. She got away and called the Center for Human Services Crisis Team, which provides 24-hour emergency response.

He was taken to a hospital to detox. But mental health issues and the stress of joblessness, caused the Vietnam veteran to continue his spiral.

"I could see things weren't getting any better," she said.

In March, desperate for help, she called his family. He moved in with them, returning to Eades' apartment in May to get his things. She suspected drinking and/or drug use, so she left while he packed.

While she was gone, he continually called her cell phone. She could hear things breaking. When she returned, her apartment was torn apart.

"Anything that had an importance to me was broken," she said. "He became violent with me. I called police. I had no other option."

The call was one of 851 domestic violence calls Bloomington police have responded to this year. Normal officers have logged 529 calls and McLean County, 131. That's down slightly from January through July 2008.

Response time

Each department sends at least two officers to domestic violence calls.

"It's the second most dangerous contact an officer can have," said Normal Police Chief Kent Crutcher. (Traffic stops are the most dangerous.)

Police can spend nearly two hours sorting out details from the victim, suspect and witnesses and writing a report -- longer if an arrest is made.

More time is spent in the coming days. Normal sends its domestic violence detective to follow up with the victim. Bloomington has two domestic violence detectives who review reports and, if needed, "hire back" an officer for follow-up. Grant money pays the officer.

An advocate from Mid Central Community Action's Countering Domestic Violence program accompanies police on follow-up visits and provides information on victims' rights and available services.

"We're doing head and shoulders over when I was a young officer," said Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley, a 24-year department veteran. "The laws have changed dramatically."

McLean County Sheriff Mike Emery agreed.

"We would show up and nine out of 10, there wouldn't be an arrest. We would separate the two people and tell them, 'If I have to come back tonight, one of you is going to jail.' If there was an arrest, it was a simple battery," he said.

Today, among other things, a 1986 law requires an arrest be made if there's been physical contact, Crutcher said.

That's why Eades' boyfriend was arrested and ultimately charged with domestic battery. Sentenced to 18 months conditional discharge and 100 days in jail, he was recently released and is attending court-ordered domestic violence and chemical dependency classes.

But the abuse he inflicted on Eades was just the beginning of her troubles. Two weeks later, she got an eviction notice.

"It was utterly shocking, scary. I had a feeling of being alone and now I was told I had 10 days to be out," she said.

The notice said Eades had violated two lease provisions: having drug paraphernalia and having police called to a disturbance. The paraphernalia was found when Eades' boyfriend was arrested; no one was charged.

Turnberry property manager Monica Jodoin said Eades' situation involved more than domestic violence. Other victims of violence who are not in violation of other lease terms are not routinely asked to leave, she said.

But ongoing domestic violence situations in an apartment complex can create a volatile environment for everyone, said Jodoin, who consults with police on crime-related issues.

"In domestic violence situations you never know what's going to happen," she said. "Our main goal here is to keep residents safe."

Protecting their homes

Stacey Tutt, managing attorney with Prairie State Legal Services, said her agency hears about abuse victims who don't report violence because they don't want to lose their homes.

"These actions perpetuate the feeling of entrapment for victims," Tutt said.

Crutcher said Turnberry Village is not the only complex that includes such provisions. "Places that have had problems are getting hard on evictions," he said.

Turnberry Village allowed Eades to stay until her lease expired July 1. She has since found another apartment.

"I wanted to stay; I felt safe there. I had neighbors who knew my situation," Eades said. "I think Turnberry should have said, 'If we see him on the property, we'll have him arrested.' I don't see why I had to be kicked out."

Eades has an order of protection against her boyfriend, but it allowed the two to exchange letters while he was in jail. He expressed regret and hope the two could reunite. Eades believes he can overcome his problems.

"He went multiple years without drinking," she said. She'd be willing to try again "with strict boundaries he'd have to maintain."

Deborah White, program director for Countering Domestic Violence, said that's the "honeymoon" stage of abuse.

"The victim had a bond with this person, loved this person and hopes he or she will change because there were good times in the past," she said.

But patterns show the abuse will escalate and become more frequent, White said.

While an abuser can comply with conditions of a court order, such as domestic violence or chemical dependency classes, it takes time for long-term change, White said.

---

Coming Monday

• Amy Leichtenberg of LeRoy knows an order of protection doesn't always guarantee a happy ending.
• Most protective orders accomplish their goal, though enforcement can be tricky.
• A sampling of police and court response to local domestic violence incidents.

Related

• How to tell if you've been abused
• How to identify a potential abuser
• Warning signs of abusers
• PDF: Continuum of Family Violence