SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois law now requires that prospective police officers approve the release of personal background records in response to last summer's shooting of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman, in her home by a sheriff's deputy who had responded to her call for help.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed the legislation, which requires disclosure of everything from job performance reports to nonpublic settlement agreements. It resulted from indiscretions that came to light in the background of Sean Grayson, the ex-sheriff's deputy charged with first-degree murder in the case.
Pritzker, surrounded by Massey's family in the state Capitol, said the first-in-the-nation law should serve as an example for other states as he let Massey's "spirit guide us to action."
"Our justice s