By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
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SPRINGFIELD — The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office came under intense scrutiny after an unarmed Black woman was shot and killed by a deputy in her Springfield home in July 2024.
The deputy charged with her murder, Sean Grayson, had a troubled employment record at other Central Illinois police agencies. Despite a former supervisor once asking Grayson “how are you still employed?” he was hired by Sangamon County in May 2023 only to have his career end 14 months later when he shot and killed 36-year-old Sonya Massey in her home.
The Illinois Senate advanced a pair of bills this week designed to address the community’s concerns about the tragedy and how it was handled.
“After that murder occurred, a lot of things came out with regard to the way that the deputy was hired, and also a lot of questionable activities that were in his background that Sangamon County was not aware of and did not have privy to before an offer of employment,” Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, said.
Grayson, who is white, shot and killed Massey inside her house early on the morning of July 6. Body camera video shows Grayson and another deputy responding to a report of a prowler at her home. They didn’t find signs of anyone outside.
The situation went south after Massey asked the deputies if she could remove a pot of boiling water from the stove. Massey, who had a history of mental health episodes, told the deputies, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” and Grayson threatened to shoot Massey in the face. He then fired striking Massey and told other deputies responding to the shooting he feared Massey was going to throw the water at him.
Grayson was charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial as the Illinois Supreme Court weighs a request from his attorney to grant him pretrial release. A separate court ruling earlier this week moved the trial out of Sangamon County to Peoria County.
The Senate advanced legislation Wednesday to reform hiring at police agencies. Senate Bill 1953 sponsored by Turner was unanimously approved in the Senate.
The bill would require law enforcement agencies to review all aspects of a person’s background and employment before offering a position as an officer, including physical and psychological fitness-for-duty exams, work performance records, investigations involving the applicant and any prior arrests or criminal convictions.
“When it comes to hiring police officers, we want to … ensure we have the most qualified people,” Turner said in a statement Wednesday.
Grayson was hired by Sangamon County despite troubles at past police agencies and two drunken driving convictions, a Capitol News Illinois investigation found. In one instance while working for Logan County, Grayson was told he needed “extensive” training after not listening to a supervisor’s orders to terminate a police chase. But when Grayson was hired by Sangamon County, the investigations in Logan County ended.
Grayson also served short stints at other central Illinois policy agencies, including Auburn, where the police chief complained Grayson was often too aggressive about drug busts and bragged about them on social media.
The bill also would require all counties with more than 75,000 people to create a sheriff’s merit board. Current state law only requires Cook County to have an independent board overseeing disciplinary matters.
A Sangamon County commission created after Massey’s death also recommended giving voters power to recall countywide elected officials.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell faced intense calls to resign after Massey’s shooting. After initially resisting them, he retired at the end of August 2024.
The Senate voted 35-19 Thursday to approve Senate Bill 1954. It would allow Sangamon County to present a referendum to voters in 2026 asking them to create a recall mechanism for certain countywide elected officials such as the sheriff. County treasurers, regional superintendents and district-elected officials such as county board members could not be recalled under the bill.
“I believe there is widespread support on the county board to put the question of recall before the voters of Sangamon County,” Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter said in a statement.
Some Republican senators said the bill should expand beyond Sangamon County.
“I think every elected official in the state of Illinois should be liable to recall by their constituents if they’re not doing their job properly,” Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, said.
Only Cook County voters currently can recall officials.
The bills now await consideration in the House. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
