OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:26 PM – Friday, May 16, 2025
The Illinois House advanced legislation on Thursday mandating more comprehensive background checks prior to the hiring of police officers — coming less than a year after a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot 36-year-old Sonya Massey, who appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis at the time.
Massey was killed last July by former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who shot her inside her home near Springfield, after she called the police.
At the time, Massey told officers that she was worried there was a “peeping tom or prowler” outside her home — so she promptly contacted the authorities. However, there was no peeping tom or prowler.
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Additionally, Massey’s mannerisms, caught on police body camera footage, appeared to show that she was both paranoid and manic.
Grayson, the former deputy, has since been terminated and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Massey’s death, prompting scrutiny over his initial hiring amid concerns regarding his conduct in previous law enforcement position, CBS News reported.
According to body cam footage, former deputy Grayson fatally shot Massey while she was attending to a pot of boiling water in her kitchen. She was manically uttering the phrase: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Prior to the bill’s announcement, some had argued that Massey did not listen to the deputy and that he had conveyed that he was worried she would “use the boiling water as a weapon” — prompting him to fire off his gun. Nonetheless, Illinois prosecutors stated that Grayson had in fact instructed Massey to remove the pot from the stove, and that she posed no threat warranting the use of lethal force.
On Thursday, the Illinois House voted 101-12 to pass the legislation, sponsored by State Representative Kam Buckner (D-Chicago). It mandates more rigorous background checks prior to the hiring of police officers and other law enforcement personnel in Illinois.
Law enforcement agencies would be prohibited from extending a final employment offer to prospective police officers without first conducting a thorough review of all prior employment records.
Additionally, anyone applying for a police officer position in Illinois would be required to authorize all previous employers, including other law enforcement agencies, to provide full employment records, including “duty-related physical and psychological fitness-for-duty examinations; work performance records,” as well as any criminal records or records of other investigations related to their conduct on the job.
Prior to Grayson’s hiring in Sangamon County, concerns regarding his conduct had already been thoroughly documented by other law enforcement agencies. However, these issues were inexplicably not communicated to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office during the recruitment process.
In his fifth law enforcement position, Grayson disregarded orders to terminate a high-speed pursuit, reaching speeds exceeding 110 mph before the chase concluded when he hit a deer. Additionally, a report from a previous department noted deficiencies in his report-writing abilities and described his approach to drug enforcement as excessively aggressive.
“It’s just sad that we had to have had a tragedy like this with the Sonya Massey murder to realize that we are doing things wrong,” said Representative Buckner. “This is an opportunity to have some checks and some balances and some processes to make sure that we don’t find ourselves in the same position and situation that we did when Sean Grayson was hired.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, also told reporters that he believes the legislation should serve as a model for other states.
“This legislation in Illinois is a kind of commonsense legislation that will bring the kind of thing that this will never happen to another family,” he said.
Grayson is slated to stand trial in October in Peoria County. Meanwhile, the Illinois Supreme Court is deliberating on his petition for pretrial release from custody.
The bill was unanimously passed by the Illinois Senate, and it has been sent to Democrat Governor JB Pritzker’s desk.
National civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci issued the following statement following the announcement of the news:
“The passage of the Sonya Massey Bill is a powerful and overdue step forward in preventing tragedies like the one that took Sonya’s life. This legislation helps address the deep flaws in the law enforcement hiring process that allowed an officer with a disturbing pattern of misconduct to continue wearing a badge and carrying a weapon.
“We are grateful to Senator Doris Turner and Representative Kam Buckner for their leadership in championing this bill and standing with the Massey family throughout this process. Their efforts, alongside the tireless advocacy of the Massey Commission, have brought about meaningful reform that will require departments to fully investigate and consider a candidate’s prior history before entrusting them with the power to police and serve our communities.
“Today, Illinois lawmakers have sent a clear message: that we can and must do better. This legislation sets a new standard for accountability and transparency, and brings us closer to ensuring that no other family endures the devastating loss the Massey family has suffered. Other states must follow their lead.
“We respectfully implore Governor Pritzker to sign this bill into law swiftly, as we reaffirm our commitment to fighting for justice, accountability, and reform in Sonya’s name,” they said in a joint statement — according to Kelly Corder, public relations/media relations director for Sachs Media.
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