The newly appointed Sangamon County sheriff plans to file records requests to obtain information from public agencies that have employed applicants for jobs as county deputies and correctional officers.
Sheriff Paula Crouch also said she will mandate in-person visits to current and past employers, when possible, as part of a more-thorough background check after the 2023 hiring of former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who shot and killed Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman, in her home July 6.
“My thinking is to have a step-by-step background process,” Crouch told Illinois Times after an Oct. 15 meeting of the Sangamon County Board’s Jail Committee. “I know the sheriff before me did have a background process. I’m just kind of making it more in-depth.”
Crouch said not all of the planned improvements have been finalized, including expanding the role of the Sangamon County Sheriff Merit Commission in vetting candidates. She told the committee she will make a presentation in the next month or two outlining the changes and will consider any suggestions.