Gov. JB Pritzker has signed into law the Sonya Massey bill, requiring stricter vetting before hiring of law enforcement officers statewide.
The signing Tuesday came more than a year after Massey was shot and killed in her own home by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.
Before working in Sangamon County, Grayson bounced around between five smaller police and sheriff’s departments, racking up a history of disciplinary issues.
The new law will require police agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of an applicant’s employment history before making a job offer. Massey’s family believes this kind of oversight could have prevented her death.
“When Sonya Massey feared for her safety, she did what anyone would do: she called for help,” Pritzker said at Tuesday’s bill signing. “That became a death sentence for her.
“Unfortunately, what happened to Sonya is not an isolated incident in America,” Pritzker added. “So what we do today should serve as an example across the nation, for other states and jurisdictions. Each and every one of these incidents is a preventable tragedy and a moral strain.”
Massey called law enforcement to her home on July 6, 2024, to report a possible intruder.
Grayson responded and shot Massey in the head.
Grayson claimed he had feared that Massey would throw a pot of boiling water at him. But, body-camera footage shows Massey ducking for cover behind a kitchen counter with her hands raised before Grayson fired at her.
Members of the Massey family attended Tuesday’s bill signing, all wearing purple, Massey’s favorite color.
“I miss my mom every single day, like every day, and it hurts that she’s not here with me,” Massey’s son, Malachi Hill, said Tuesday. “But I am very happy that we can also get a bill put in her name, and her name can live on for forever.”
State Sen. Doris Turner, a sponsor of the bill and friend of the Massey family, was overcome with emotions at Tuesday’s bill signing.
“I will tell you unequivocally, in my 25 years of elected office, this is the least political thing I have ever done, but it’s the most important thing I have ever done,” Turner said.
Following the shooting, Turner reached out to Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, to try and console her. Donna Massey told Turner; “Nothing else matters to me. I just want you to get justice for my baby.”
“I immediately made her that promise,” Turner said. “And that promise has guided my every step, my every action, from that day to this one.”
An investigation from the Invisible Institute and Illinois Public Media found Grayson’s past employment records had been riddled with allegations of misconduct.
At the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, where Grayson worked before Sangamon County, complaints were filed against him for inappropriate conduct with a jail detainee, the investigation found. Records also showed Grayson had ignored internal policies around high-speed pursuits, received at least two formal complaints and that Logan County considered firing him.
Grayson also previously pleaded guilty in two misdemeanor DUI cases.
He was fired from Sangamon County after he was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Contributing: Mawa Iqbal