Illinois Gov. Pritzker criticizes sheriff for hiring deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday criticized Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell for hiring the sheriff's deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her kitchen after she called for help last month.

"I have a lot of questions and I'm so far disappointed with the answers that I'm hearing from the sheriff," the governor said during a news conference in Chicago. "How did the sheriff end up hiring this person? (He) must have known their background, must have. I mean, no one hires somebody without checking the hirees' background."

Sean P. Grayson, who was fired after shooting Massey in the face, faces first-degree murder charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Sangamon County Court on July 18 and remains in custody.

Grayson's personnel files released last week by the county included testimony from one of his former police chiefs saying, "he needed more training" and also documented the two DUI convictions he had received in 2015 and 2016.

The records revealed he also scored "low" on his cognitive assessment as part of his psychological evaluation but met the acceptable standards for being hired.

Campbell hired Grayson in May 2023 after serving in the Logan County Sheriff's Department and other Springfield-area police departments. His decision to hire Grayson has prompted an attempt to put an advisory referendum on the November ballot asking whether Campbell should stay in office.

The push comes from five Democrats on the Republican-majority county board and would not require the sheriff to step down if the voters approved it. Campbell has been steadfast in not leaving his office.

"I was elected sheriff to lead this office and protect the people of the county through good times and bad and certainly we're going through a rough time right now," Campbell told the The State Journal-Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, last week. "For me to abandon the sheriff's office now would be irresponsible."

He added: "We're certainly suffering, and the community is suffering, and I want to be here to help lead out of this situation that we're in."

'We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya's family and friends'

Campbell, a Republican, has been sheriff since 2018 and is next up for election in 2026. He admitted the department "failed the community. We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya's family and friends."

One of those board members pushing for the advisory referendum, Sam Cahnman, said Tuesday that "the best way to find out what the electorate wants is through an election."

Cahnman said although the vote would be advisory, "the Jack Campbell I know is an honest, dedicated public servant, and I believe he would heed the will of the voters." Also sponsoring the resolution were Marc Ayers, Tony DelGiorno, Kevin McGuire, and Gina Lathan.

Twenty of the county board members are Republicans with eight Democrats. There is one vacancy, though that seat will need to be filled by a Republican.

The county board would have to pass the referendum at its Aug. 13 meeting for it to get on the ballot.

Asked whether he thinks Campbell should resign, Pritzker emphasized he wants more transparency in the hiring process. Last week, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, told reporters in Springfield she was still looking for more information before she could call for his resignation.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

Contact Steven Spearie: sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.