Reform advocates attend prison committee meeting | News

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PHOTO BY DEAN OLSEN

Springfield resident Breonna Roberts, who has been an active advocate for justice following the July 6 killing of Sonya Massey, speaks at a Sangamon County Board of Jail Committee meeting on August 20 about possible reforms affecting the Sheriff's Department.

A member of the Sangamon County Board on August 20 withdrew his official proposal for a series of reforms that would provide tighter control and oversight in the hiring of new deputy sheriffs.

Democrat Gina Lathan of Springfield said the actions called for in her resolution – which she drafted after Woodside Township resident Sonya Massey was shot by a police officer on July 6 – would be best implemented by a citizens' group called the Massey Commission.

“I really wanted to move this process forward,” said Lathan, the board’s representative in District 22, Illinois Times after a meeting of the board's prison committee, where she withdrew the resolution from active deliberation. “I want to improve the current system and make sure it is transparent,” she said.

Lathan said the Massey Commission is the best place to gather “community resources and input” for the proposals in the resolution. The commission is expected to receive an initial $100,000 from the County Board.

If the commission's work does not appear to achieve the resolution's goals, Lathan promised to resubmit the proposal to the prison committee and the full county board.

Another resolution to advance the creation of the commission is to be voted on at the board meeting on September 10.

With the commission, Sangamon County authorities are trying to answer the many questions raised by the death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman with a mental illness. The single mother of two was shot in the face and killed in her home by a white deputy, Sean Grayson, 30, after she suspected an intruder near her home and called 911.

Sheriff Jack Campbell hired Grayson despite problems at his previous police jobs—some of which Campbell said he was unaware of—and after Grayson received a good reference from his future father-in-law, a retired former deputy with the sheriff's department.

Grayson was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, and abuse of authority. The incident was recorded by an accompanying officer's body-worn camera. Grayson was denied pretrial release and is being held at the Menard County Jail in Petersburg.

County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter, a Republican from Springfield, and State Senator Doris Turner, a Democrat from Springfield, announced the formation of the Massey Commission on August 16.

The commission will have three co-chairs: Dr. Jerry Kruse, dean and provost of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, the Reverend T. Ray McJunkins, pastor of Union Baptist Church, and Nina Harris, former president of the Springfield Urban League.

The three co-chairs will select the other members of the commission, which will not include any elected officials. According to the proposed resolution, which is to be considered in September, the panel would be required to develop “some actionable recommendations” within six months and issue a final report and a full list of proposals within a year, the resolution says.

A press release announcing the commission said the group would recommend policy changes and other actions to “address the issues of race relations and systemic racism and examine related problems in law enforcement, mental health responses and community relations.”

Anyone interested in serving on the commission can apply online at SangamonIL.gov/MasseyCommission. The application deadline is August 30 at 5:00 p.m.

Turner, a former county board member, said she hopes the commission honors Massey's life “by finding solutions that move our community forward.”

County Board member Marc Ayers, a Democrat from Springfield, said he is considering proposing an amendment to the resolution that would require the county government to cover the costs of a private, outside organization investigating the circumstances of Grayson's hiring.

Such an investigation would complement a previously announced U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Massey's death, Ayers said.

The resolution withdrawn by Lathan required the sheriff to implement “more stringent hiring practices.” The proposal would expand the oversight role of the Sangamon County Deputy Benefits Commission and require background checks that include Freedom of Information Act requests for personnel records from previous employers.

The solution would disqualify applicants with two or more drunk driving convictions within a 10-year period – a situation that applied to Grayson. It would also require an independent, external review of hiring practices and improvements to the department's procedures for dealing with “critical incidents to restore public trust.”

Several residents who attended the jail board meeting, including Evan Brown and Breonna Roberts, said they would like to see Lathan's resolution passed by the county board now so the community doesn't have to wait months for changes.

“How can we expect to improve public safety if we continue to hire based on family ties rather than merit, character and qualifications?” Roberts asked. “To prevent future tragedies, we must implement robust and transparent background checks that go deeper than just superficial investigations.”

Brown said, “The culture of law enforcement is corrupt.”

Campbell, 60, a Republican in his second four-year term as elected sheriff, faced calls for his resignation after Massey's death, including from Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat. After initially dismissing those calls as “political maneuvering,” Campbell announced on Aug. 9 that he would retire no later than Aug. 31.

Van Meter said Aug. 19 that he has set up a committee to review applications and participate in the interview and nomination process for a new sheriff, who will serve until the end of Campbell's term in fall 2026.

State law requires Campbell's successor to be hired within 60 days of his retirement. Between Campbell's retirement and the county board's appointment of a new sheriff, Coroner Jim Allmon will serve in addition to the sheriff's office.

The law requires Campbell's successor for the remainder of his term to be a member of his political party, to be a resident of Sangamon County for at least one year, not to be a convicted felon and to have successfully completed law enforcement training.

The review committee is chaired by retired District Judge Pat Kelley, two members of the County Board, Republican Joel Tjelmeland and Democrat Linda Douglas-Williams, First Assistant District Attorney Mary Beth Rogers, retired Deputy Chico Belle, and Catie Sheehan, a former County Board member and executive director of marketing and communications for the SIU System.

County Board member Sam Cahnman, a Democrat from Springfield who represents the 18th District, said in a statement he was “pleased that County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter has accepted my suggestion” to create a special committee to help him select a successor to Campbell.

But Cahnman added, “I am disappointed that this committee of five Republicans and two Democrats does not include any members of social groups or members of Sonya Massey's family,” nor does it include any representatives of the public defender's office or private defense attorneys.

When asked for his opinion on Cahnman's proposals for expanding the review committee, Van Meter said in a statement: “Sam would find fault with a committee consisting of Confucius, Socrates, Gandhi, the biblical Ruth, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.”

Cahnman tried unsuccessfully to get the County Board to allow a binding referendum on the November 5 ballot that would give voters the opportunity to remove future sheriffs through a recall vote.