It’s good that the community mental health board referendum won approval on its first attempt, shortening the time when public funds will help to repair a broken system. Many helped to win passage for the ballot measure, but it was the Massey Commission, formed in September 2024, in the wake of Sonya Massey’s killing in July, that first brought the possibility of a taxpayer-funded mental health board to public attention. “The deaths of Sonya Massey and Earl Moore, Jr., and the harm done to Gregory Small, Jr., at times in which they sought help from public entities, has shaken Sangamon County to its moral core,” the commission reported. The group’s first resolution, Nov. 18, 2024, just two months after its year-long work began, called for establishing a 708 Mental Health Board, linking the issue directly to Massey: “This brutal murder began as a cry for help and is a reminder of the inadequacy of mental health infrastructure within law enforcement and the broader need for mental health training and supports in our community.” There are many mental health gaps that need to be considered by the new board when it is formed, but none more important than the interface between law enforcement and those who, like Sonya Massey when she called 911, suffer from mental illness. – Fletcher Farrar, editor
This article appears in March 19-25, 2026.
