The city of Springfield’s Police Community Review Commission approved an extension of the window that citizens can file complaints from 15 days to 30 days – though the city council will also have to approve the change – during its final meeting of the year on Nov. 6.
In addition, Sunshine Clemons, co-founder of the Springfield chapter of Black Lives Matter, stepped down from the commission after five years of service, leaving three vacant spots on the seven-member board.
The Commission was formed 20 years ago as an independent government body to provide oversight for the Springfield Police Department by addressing complaints from Springfield residents about police interactions and reviewing internal affairs investigations.
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Clemons said the Commission did not review many cases during her time on the board – the last time a complaint was reviewed by the Police Community Review Commission, or PCRC, was in March 2023, when commissioners heard about the appeal of a disciplinary action from 2022. Despite mandated cooperation from SPD when a complaint is brought to the board, the PCRC process, Clemons told Illinois Times, felt aimless.
“The way that it’s structured just felt like a waste of time,” she said. “We (PCRC) can recommend (reprimands), but the police department doesn’t have to actually adhere to what we say. It’s really just a suggestion that they can listen to if they choose to. The main reason that I stepped down is because the way that the commission is set up. In my opinion, we’re never going to disagree with the findings of the chief because so far what I’ve seen is there’s no punishment issued because there was no evidence to prove what the person was saying.”
According to the original 2005 ordinance founding the Commission, “any person who feels aggrieved by action or inaction of a sworn officer of the Springfield Police Department shall be entitled to file a complaint,” but all complaints to the Commission are recorded by the city’s Community Relations office and then forwarded to the SPD deputy chief of professional standards, also known as internal affairs. “Internal affairs will investigate the complaint and render a final report of findings… any person dissatisfied with the internal affairs’ findings may file an appeal with the PCRC within 15 working days. A hearing on the matter shall be scheduled within 30 days.” The PCRC then votes on a recommendation related to the police department’s findings, which can mean one of several options:
1. The PCRC concurs with the finding of the chief of police
2. The PCRC does not concur with the finding of the chief of police
3. The case should be referred back to SPD internal affairs for further investigation
4. The case be continued in another PCRC hearing, due to a lack of four votes for any of the above options
Clemons, who has been on the commission since former Mayor Jim Langfelder and former Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow asked her to join in 2020, said at times she thought the PCRC might be viewed as a form of bureaucratic cover for the Springfield Police Department due to rarely, if ever, disagreeing with police investigative findings. Three of the remaining four members on the Commission have law enforcement experience.
“It’s like (the PCRC is) there to pretend that they’re going to listen to us, but the end result is they’re just going to do what the police say or want them to do,’” said Clemons, expressing her concerns of community perception. “That was really, really hard for me. Especially because, at that time, we had a different corporation counsel person who was very, very strict on what we could say and what we couldn’t say, so we weren’t even really allowed to explain ourselves (to complainants).”
The PCRC has received and reviewed three complaints related to SPD since 2020, Ethan Posey, director of Community Relations, told IT. The idea to expand the complaint window from 15 days to 30 days, along with some new marketing materials, indicates the PCRC is attempting to invite more community interaction.
Since the Commission’s recommendations are non-binding, the Springfield City Council has to vote to approve the change for it to take effect. However, no ordinance has appeared on the council agenda for any of the three meetings that have taken place since the PCRC’s Nov. 6 meeting.
With Clemons resigning, the Commission is down to its minimum requirement of four members, which means it would lack a quorum should a single commissioner be absent. A Springfield resident reached out to IT after showing up to a scheduled Oct. 16 PCRC meeting that was canceled without prior notice. The PCRC later rescheduled the meeting for Nov. 6 and said the October meeting was canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Posey said at the November meeting he recommended multiple applicants be approved to fill the vacancies but is unsure of the status of those applications. He did not specify the number of applications received.
“There have been a number of individuals who have submitted applications to be members of the Police Community Review Commission. I have given recommendations to accept people that have submitted (applications), and I don’t know where the process has been moved past that,” Posey said. “For lack of a better term, there are applications waiting in the queue to be approved or denied but there are multiple applications that we are waiting on updates on.”
However, Mayor Misty Buscher has no plans to fill the vacancies on the PCRC, Amanda Brown, the city’s communications director, wrote to IT Nov. 24.
“While we are working on filling members of the (Mayor’s) boards and commissions, the PCRC is not one of them,” Brown wrote.
This article appears in November 27-December 3, 2025.
Mayor Misty Buscher
has no plans
to fill
the vacancies.