Seven finalists, all of whom are or have been police officers, are in the running to serve as the next Sangamon County Sheriff.
A bipartisan committee chaired by retired Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley is interviewing finalists for the position and is expected to make a recommendation to Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter by the end of the month.
A special County Board meeting has been called for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the BOS Center. The meeting will include September business and public comments, along with possible confirmation of a new sheriff if the committee is ready to make a recommendation by then. In the meantime, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon has been at the helm since Sept. 1.
Republican Jack Campbell resigned effective Aug. 31 following demands to do so from Gov. JB Pritzker and the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman killed by a Sangamon County sheriff's deputy. They contend he erred in hiring Sean Grayson, the white deputy who shot Massey in the face after she had called 911. Following the fatal encounter, which was caught on a body camera, Grayson was charged with murder.
At the time Campbell resigned, his chief deputy, Anthony Mayfield, retired. An archaic Illinois law says if the chief deputy is not available the acting sheriff is the county coroner.
Allmon said he will run the department until County Board Chair Andy Van Meter selects a replacement, who is expected to serve for at least two years.
"It's nothing that I sought out or asked for, obviously," he told Illinois Times. "But I just felt that it was necessary to fulfill this obligation and do the best I can and make sure that job gets done."
The Massey homicide and the public response following it have taken their toll on the department, Van Meter said.
"Everyone was devastated by this rogue officer's shooting. ... And in general, it's a very good team of people. They need new leadership, and they want to see that the department's headed in a good direction. That's why we're on the fast track to getting a new sheriff in place," he said.
Allmon said he is trying to bolster morale by providing visible leadership.
"I've met with all the correctional officers, the records people, the detective bureau, the patrol division, the administration, and I've really tried to make sure that I have a presence there," he said.
Van Meter said the state statute requires the person replacing Campbell be of the same political party, have lived in Sangamon County for the past 12 months and have received law enforcement training.
"The committee is very aware of the gravity of the moment, and we're working diligently to make a timely and well-considered recommendation to Chairman Van Meter," committee chair Kelley told IT.
He added he is pleased with the quality of the seven finalists for the position, which include:
• Timothy Becker, Athens police chief and retired chief of staff from the Illinois State
Police;
• Bryce Benton, lllinois State Police officer who has served in the division of criminal investigation, intelligence command and as a special agent/task force officer;
• Paula Crouch, chief deputy circuit and retired Springfield police lieutenant;
• Nancy Finley, sergeant, Sangamon County Sheriff's Office;
• Mike Harth, sergeant, Sangamon County Sheriff's Office;
• Chris Mueller. executive director of Sangamon County Central Dispatch and a retired Springfield police lieutenant;
• Bryan Pruitt, retired Illinois State Police captain.
Sangamon County spokesman Jeff Wilhite said he does not know the racial or ethnic composition of all of the finalists.
In addition to committee chair Kelley, the committee members who reviewed the applications and will conduct interviews are: Joel Tjelmeland, a Sangamon County Board member who chairs the Jail Committee; Linda Douglas-Williams, a Sangamon County Board member and ranking Democrat on the Jail Committee; Raymond Poe, retired Illinois State Representative and former Illinois Director of Agriculture; Mary Beth Rodgers, First Assistant Sangamon County State's Attorney and Springfield Park Board member; Chico Belle, a retired deputy from the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office; and Catie Sheehan, SIU System executive director of marketing and communications and former vice chair of the Sangamon County Board.
Community activist Tiara Standage, who has led protests following Massey's death, said it is important that people of color be considered for the position.
"If we have a sheriff of color, a lot of those things will be implemented because they'll have lived the experience with being treated differently due to the color of (their) skin," she said. "I don't think that they would want that to be happening under them and their department if they were a sheriff of color."
She said the department needs greater diversity, anti-racism training and stronger empathy among those enforcing the laws.
Standage said she knows little about finalists for the position but is curious about the identity of the applicants who have already been passed over and why.
Van Meter said Sangamon County received 15 applications for the position, two of which did not meet the statutory requirements for the position.
"I'm really deferring to the committee until they make a recommendation to me," he said. "I told them we need management experience. If the Sheriff's Office was a business in Sangamon County, it'd be one of our top 20 businesses. ... We need somebody that understands that statutorily, the sheriff's first responsibility is operating the jail. We need somebody that understands that for the unincorporated portions of Sangamon County, which by square-mile area is the vast portion of Sangamon County, the sheriff is their only police force."
