Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – If the Massey Commission has anything to say about it, the Sangamon County Board must follow its recommendations for systemic change in the wake of Sonya Massey’s death a year and a half ago.

The Sangamon County Board learned Tuesday night of 26 recommendations for change the Massey Commission put out, half of those are for the board to take action on, ranging from policing to mental health and treatment.

Sonya Massey‘s cousin, Sontae, though, says it goes beyond just taking 13 votes.

“The heart of this work isn’t the policies. It’s the people,” said Massey, to the County Board.  “Every call to action, in every page of the final report, was shaped by community members who shared painful stories because they wanted something better for their families.  Sonya’s story was one of them, but there are countless others.”

The recommendations encompass issues ranging from policing, to mental health support, to what they call systemic racism.  The commission’s final report can be seen at the link above.

Among the words the commission used in telling the county board about the report are “now” and “courage” — words used frequently in a presentation.  Can the work even start now?  Andy Van Meter, County Board Chair, said yes, and it has.

“The concepts that are identified for the county board, we are hoping to be able to assign those to one of the (standing) discipline committees,” said Van Meter (R-District 24).  “Some of the projects may require sort of an interdisciplinary group of community leaders, but we’re working through those assignments.  The idea is to assign each project to a group of some kind.”

One of the first tasks for the county board will be to create an oversight committee that will make sure all the work gets done.

“That body that would be created would also have to check our work, to see in a year’s time how many things have been implemented,” said Kelly Hurst, Massey Commission Managing Director.

The Massey Commission and the new Purple Coalition are holding a listening session to keep the conversation going Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at CAP 1908.