Massey Commission issues final report

The Massey Commission has released a final report that details more than two dozen recommendations, specifically labeling them “calls to action,” and listed entities that should be responsible for carrying them out. Members of the commission and its staff presented the final report to the Sangamon County Board at its Dec. 9 meeting. 

A handful of County Board members thanked the commission for its work.

“I really look to the County Board members to work hard on this report. Our community does deserve a lot better; (the Massey) family does deserve a lot better,” said board member Greg Stumpf.

Each call to action is also categorized under one of five “signature priorities” that the commission identified. The full report is 63 pages long and details specific actions localities could take to make marginalized residents safer across Sangamon County.

The commission was created by Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter and state Sen. Doris Turner to address “systemic issues in law enforcement practices, mental health responses and community relations” one month after Sonya Massey called 911, only to be shot and killed in her home by a sheriff’s deputy.

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“The concepts that are identified for the County Board, we’re hoping to be able to assign those to one of the (County Board’s) discipline committees,” Van Meter said at the Dec. 9 meeting. “Some of the projects may require an interdisciplinary group of community leaders, but we’re working through those assignments.” 

Community partners plan to organize avenues for the public to provide feedback on the final report, according to a statement issued Dec. 4 when the report was posted online. 

While there are no more scheduled meetings, members of the commission have said they would like to continue operating in some way. In August, the group hosted members of the Ferguson Commission to discuss transitioning the Massey Commission into a nonprofit, although no specific plans have been announced.

Sontae Massey, Sonya Massey’s cousin and a staff member of the Massey Commission, addressed the County Board during its December meeting and urged the work to continue. 

“My family didn’t choose this path. The community didn’t choose the conditions that made this commission necessary, but we do have a choice today to move forward with honesty, courage and commitment,” he said.