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(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – (UPDATE) “It’s about bringing people together in Sangamon County and making people feel safe.” Those are the words of Gov. JB Pritzker after calling for the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. Pritzker made his comments during a Q& A session after the unveiling of the butter cow at the fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon.
Pritzker said it’s been a month since Sonya Massey was shot in her home by then deputy Sean Grayson, who had responded to a 911 call for a prowler. The governor said Campbell should have met with the family by now.
Campbell said in a statement released Wednesday (below) that he had reached out four times attempting to arrange a meeting with the Massey family but was unsuccessful.
“Calling the sheriff because you feel unsafe and then having the deputy sheriff kill you point blank, think about the implication of that for people who live in Sangamon County and for people who live all over the state and the nation,” said Pritzker. Campbell could have made calls to the departments Grayson worked for, he said, to get insight into the person he was hiring. “It’s not about state policy. The sheriff can do what he thinks is the right thing to do to hire the right people to work for his department. The state shouldn’t have to set policy for him to do background checks and reference calls on people they are hiring.”
On July 31, Sangamon County released Grayson’s personnel records including information on background checks made prior to his hiring.
Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton released a joint statement Tuesday calling for Campbell to step down. Campbell released his statement Wednesday morning.
Gov. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Stratton statement
A full month has passed since the murder of Sonya Massey. In that time Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell has had ample opportunity to respond with conviction and purpose to questions about his hiring of the perpetrator, Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson, and about reforms he would propose for his department to avoid this from happening again. Suspicion has grown, leading to inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice and calls for other independent investigations. The community remains in fear that calling the Sheriff’s Office when they feel endangered will lead to another murder of an innocent resident.
To date, Sheriff Campbell has yet to even meet with the Massey family. The refusal to meet with a grieving family face to face when one of your Sheriff’s Deputies killed their innocent mother, sister and daughter is inexcusable. Rather than waiting for others to propose reform of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Campbell should have taken his leadership role more seriously. When we met with Sonya Massey’s family, we heard their pleas and made a commitment to support them in working for justice.
Today, we join the Massey family in calling for Sheriff Campbell’s resignation immediately so the Springfield and Sangamon County community can begin to rebuild and restore trust between citizens and the sheriff’s department. We will continue to keep the Massey family in our prayers.
Sheriff Jack Campbell statement
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office continues to grieve for Sonya Massey and her family. While our grief cannot compare to the pain of the family, our office is trying to heal from within; All employees of the Sheriff’s Office feel betrayed by one of their own.
On four separate occasions, I have requested to meet with the Massey family through intermediaries designated by the family. My requests have been rejected or not accepted. I am still willing to meet with the family.
The Sheriff’s Office is willing to modify our hiring practices in order to prevent an incident like this from occurring again. However, before changes can be made, it is important to identify the problem. We have used a process that we believe was consistent with statewide standards. If these standards are deficient, we would advocate a change at all necessary levels.
We are working diligently to gather all the facts in order to make intelligent decisions and to avoid making changes that are unlikely to lead to meaningful results. I agree with the Governor’s comments from yesterday, there are still questions. I have worked tirelessly to make all the facts available to the public as swiftly and transparently as possible.
I am committed to working with our community and elected leaders to improve not only the Sheriff’s Office but also hiring standards on a statewide level to prevent a state agency from certifying a similar law enforcement officer six different times in the future.
We need to unite and heal. The one responsible is in jail and will never work in law enforcement again. Calls for my resignation are nothing more than political maneuvering during a tragic event and only hurt the good citizens of Sangamon County.
I was overwhelmingly elected to lead the Sheriff’s Office through both good times and bad. I am fully prepared to continue leading my office and serving the residents of Sangamon County through this difficult period, ensuring we learn from this tragedy and work toward a better future.