Governor, Lt. Governor call on Sangamon County sheriff to resign

CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton issued a news release Tuesday night, calling for the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell following the death of Sonya Massey.

A Sanagmon County deputy, Sean Grayson, was captured on video shooting and killing Massey on July 6. Grayson was fired and faces murder charges in Sangamon County.

The statement from the governor and lt. governor is below:

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.

Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton

Campbell responded this morning to WAND-TV in Decatur: “I was overwhelmingly elected to lead the Sheriff’s Office through both good times and bad,” he said. “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.”