Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling for Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell to resign from his post over the handling of the fatal officer-involved shooting of Springfield woman Sonya Massey.
Campbell has since fired Grayson, who is in custody facing first-degree murder charges, aggravated battery, and official misconduct charges. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence.
At an Aug. 7 news conference, Pritzker claimed that while Campbell’s handling of the tragedy isn’t illegal or a fireable offense, his actions in the weeks since the incident have been unsatisfactory, and he urged Campbell to resign.
“I called for the Sheriff’s resignation because the Sheriff has failed. He has failed to explain how he ended up hiring this deputy sheriff who has been fired from other departments,” Pritzker said.
“He failed to put forward reforms that clearly need to be made, training and other reforms, and still has failed to meet with the Massey family.”
Sheriff Says He’s Not Resigning
Campbell so far has been adamant that he won’t resign and claims he is taking all steps toward ensuring that nothing like his ever happens again.“The Sheriff’s Office is willing to modify our hiring practices in order to prevent an incident like this from occurring again,” he said.
“However, before changes can be made, it is important to identify the problem. We have used a process that we believe was consistent with statewide standards. If these standards are deficient, we would advocate a change at all necessary levels.
At the same time, Campbell said he’s reached out to the Massey family through intermediaries on four separate occasions for a meeting, but so far, they have declined.
Campbell said Pritzker’s calls for his resignation are nothing more than “political maneuvering during a tragic event and only hurt the good citizens of Sangamon County.”
“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.”