Ep. 27: Sonya Massey and Mental Health Board

Sonya Massey Called for Help. A Deputy Shot and Killed Her. Here's What Has to Change.

Sonya Massey was a mother, a sister, a cousin. She was managing lupus, raising her children, living her life in Springfield, Illinois. In the early hours of July 6, 2024, she called police because she heard banging outside her home. She was alone. One of the responding Sangamon County deputies — Sean Grayson — shot and killed her. He was subsequently convicted of murder.

Her cousin Sontae Massey is now Associate Director of the Massey Commission, the body created in her name. He joins Justice Voices alongside Adam White, Massey Commission staff member and expert on Sangamon County's mental health landscape, to make a case that is at once personal and structural: Sonya's death was preventable. And without action, it will happen again.

The action in question: a referendum asking Sangamon County voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to fund a county 708 Mental Health Board — the kind that 66 of Illinois' 102 counties already have. Sangamon County doesn't.

In this episode:

• Who Sonya Massey was — in her family's words
• What the body camera footage reveals about the night she died
• Why both guests say, without any doubt, she would be alive today if a co-responder had been on scene — and what a co-responder actually is
• What a 708 Mental Health Board would do (and what it would not do — it coordinates and funds services, it doesn't deliver them directly)
• Why Sangamon County's existing providers are siloed, underfunded, and competing against each other for the same grants
• The case for stable core funding over grant dependency
• What the proposed tax actually covers — and the three major categories it exempts (registered vehicles, medical devices and drugs, groceries and gas)
• The $4/$7 return: every dollar invested in mental health saves $4 in healthcare costs and $7 in criminal justice costs (Dept. of Health and Human Services)
• What Winnebago County's mental health board produced: a 60% drop in ER visits, 165 new behavioral health jobs — and voters who just renewed it overwhelmingly
• Who controls the money — the Board's professional commissioners, not the elected County Board
• The survey data: only 17% of providers call current services adequate; 40% of residents report an unmet need in the past three years; 89% support increased funding; 60% deal with mental health concerns they never discuss
• Sontae's warning: this wasn't the first time it happened in Sangamon County — and without structural change, it won't be the last

Chapter Markers

• [00:00] Cold open — "Without a shadow of a doubt, Sonya would still be here today"
• [01:00] Introduction — Sontae Massey and Adam White
• [01:30] Who was Sonya Massey?
• [03:00] The night she died — what led to her killing
• [07:00] Sean Grayson convicted of murder
• [07:30] A co-responder would have saved her
• [08:30] What is a co-responder? — Sontae and Adam
• [10:00] Why doesn't Sangamon County have one?
• [10:30] The Massey Commission — formation and calls to action
• [13:00] Two commissions, one conclusion: we need a mental health board
• [17:30] What would the board actually do?
• [18:00] The gaps: schizophrenia, youth, substance abuse, and more
• [18:30] The funding problem — why grants aren't enough
• [20:30] $15 million in stable core funding
• [21:00] The sales tax: what it is and what it isn't
• [22:00] Three categories exempt from the tax
• [23:30] Groceries and gas — not taxed; clothing — taxed
• [24:00] Half a cent on the dollar — what that means in practice
• [24:30] 95 mental health boards already exist in Illinois — we're the outlier
• [25:00] Winnebago County: the proof of concept
• [26:30] The elected County Board won't control the money — the professional commissioners will
• [27:00] Return on investment — addressing voter skepticism
• [28:00] $4 in healthcare savings, $7 in criminal justice savings per dollar invested
• [29:00] The survey data — 17%, 40%, 89%
• [30:00] Addressing skeptics: the board is professional, not political
• [33:00] 60% of people deal with mental health concerns they never talk about
• [34:00] A unanimous vote — Republican and Democrat alike
• [34:30] "Sonya called for help and received harm" — what happens if this fails?
• [35:00] Sontae's warning: it will happen again
• [35:30] Vote yes — how to do it, even as an independent

Key Figures & Terms

• Sonya Massey — Springfield, Illinois resident killed by Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder.
• Sean Grayson — Former Sangamon County deputy sheriff, convicted of murder in the killing of Sonya Massey.
• Dawson Farley — Grayson's partner, present at the scene.
• The Massey Commission — A Sangamon County body created following Sonya's death to identify systemic gaps across law enforcement, mental health, economic equity, and community education. Produced 115–120 calls to action; 26 are prioritized for action this year.
• Sangamon County Mental Health Commission — A separate temporary body convened by County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter, tasked with designing the structure of a 708 Mental Health Board and recommending a funding mechanism. Recommended a sales tax over a property tax.
• 708 Mental Health Board — A statutory framework under Illinois law allowing counties to fund local mental health services through voter-approved taxation. Currently active in 66 of Illinois' 102 counties, operating 95 boards.
• Co-responder — A trained mental health professional, such as a licensed clinical social worker, who responds alongside law enforcement to calls involving emotional distress or mental health crisis.
• Andy Van Meter — Sangamon County Board Chairman who convened the Mental Health Commission following the Massey Commission's recommendation.

The Numbers That Matter

Stat Source
| $4 saved in healthcare per $1 invested in mental health  | U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
| $7 saved in criminal justice per $1 invested  | U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
| $38,000–$60,000/year to incarcerate one person using mental health services  | National estimate
| $2,000–$4,000 per ER visit for a mental health crisis  | National estimate
| 60% decline in ER visits — Winnebago County after mental health board created  | Winnebago County data
| 165 behavioral health jobs added — Winnebago County  | Winnebago County data
| ~$14.7M estimated annual revenue from proposed half-cent sales tax  | Sangamon County estimate
| 95 mental health boards across 66 of Illinois' 102 counties  | Illinois data
| 17% of local providers call current mental health services adequate  | Sangamon County Mental Health Commission survey
| 40% of residents report an unmet mental health need in the past 3 years  | Sangamon County Mental Health Commission survey
| 89% of residents support increased county funding for mental health  | Sangamon County Mental Health Commission survey
| 60% of survey respondents deal with mental health concerns they never discuss  | Sangamon County Mental Health Commission survey

Guests

Sontae Massey is the Associate Director of...