Gov. JB Pritzker to sign Sonya Massey Act, reforming police hiring in Illinois

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday is expected to sign new legislation requiring more thorough background checks before hiring police officers, a law inspired by the shooting death of Sonya Massey.

Massey was shot and killed by former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson in July 2024 inside her home near Springfield.

Grayson has been fired and charged with first-degree murder in Massey's killing, and questions have been raised about why he was hired in the first place, given concerns about his conduct at past police jobs.

Grayson shot and killed Massey as she was checking on a pot of boiling water in her kitchen while saying "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," but prosecutors have said Grayson asked her to move the pot off the stove, and that she never posed a danger that justified the use of lethal force.

The Illinois House and Illinois Senate have passed the Sonya Massey Act, which would require more comprehensive background checks before hiring police or other law enforcement officers in Illinois. Gov. Pritzker is scheduled to sign the measure into law on Tuesday afternoon.

Under the legislation, law enforcement agencies would not be allowed to make a final job offer for police officers without first inspecting all of their prior employment records.

Anyone applying for a police officer job 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," and any criminal records or records of other investigations connected to their conduct on the job.

Before Grayson was hired in Sangamon County, questions about his conduct were well-documented by other police agencies. But those concerns were somehow never shared with the Sangamon County Sheriff's office during the hiring process.

In his fifth police job, he refused to terminate a high-speed chase and drove more than 110 mph — only coming to an end when he hit a deer. A report from a department where Grayson was employed also said he struggled with report writing and was aggressive in his pursuit for drugs.

Grayson is scheduled to go on trial for Massey's death in October in Peoria County. The Illinois Supreme Court is weighing a request from Grayson to be released from jail ahead of his murder trial.

• Illinois
• Police Officers
• JB Pritzker