Anticipating the July 6 one-year anniversary of Sonya Massey’s death, the Massey Commission met Monday, June 16, to discuss memorial initiatives and further reform efforts in the form of community policing changes and recovery-focused support.

The commission began by proposing memorial initiatives, which include wearing purple clothing throughout July and planting purple flowers in remembrance and solidarity. 

Additionally, the commission announced a planned memorial concert for July 10 at the upcoming Levitt Amp festival, as well as proposing that a permanent symbol of Massey be added to the county building.

Speakers invited to present findings, data and suggestions for community improvement were the Springfield branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) network. Each organization had different yet complementary approaches to preventing future events like Sonya Massey’s death. 

ROSC, a community-focused addiction recovery network founded by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) in 2018, was introduced as a change from a short-term attitude toward substance recovery to a continuous, long-term attitude of recovery. ROSC’s recent community survey, which spanned December 2024 to February 2025, revealed significant gaps in community services, particularly for youth and those exiting incarceration.

Whitney Devine, Sangamon County ROSC program manager, said, "Respondents were aware of few resources and services for youth compared to adult services. In general, awareness of mental health-related services was lower than the awareness of substance use-related services."

Austin Dambacher, ROSC coordinator, added that nearly half of respondents weren’t aware of resources for people exiting incarceration with substance use needs, and a majority were unaware of mental health resources for this population.

Major barriers included waitlists, cost, stigma, lack of insurance and transportation. However, Naloxone awareness and usage were surprisingly high. The survey highlighted three major gaps: youth services, family support, and services for the incarcerated/formerly incarcerated.

The lack of youth services was particularly concerning to ROSC, citing limited outpatient substance use treatment for adolescents and zero adolescent residential treatment providers in the county. "The awareness and existence of resources related to supporting people currently incarcerated or exiting incarceration is low," Dambacher said.

ROSC proposed increasing youth services, adding preventative measures and peer support groups, improved interagency communication, resource bundles for those leaving incarceration – including basic supplies and job/housing resources – and expanding access to peer recovery specialists.

Devine emphasized the need for more youth support groups. "It’s helpful to have support groups, especially when you’re among your peers…to have support groups with people that are also going through the same thing." Commission members expressed interest in collaborating with ROSC to address these gaps and incorporate its recommendations into their final report.

On the matter of reforming the community in another way, ACLU president Ken Page and communications director Ed Yohnka focused more on the reformation of policing practices, while ROSC focused on the community itself. 

Presenting traffic stop data from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the seven police departments within the Sangamon area, the ACLU found consistent discrepancies across Illinois police data, which showed a far higher stop and search rate for Black and brown individuals than for most others.

According to the United States Census Bureau, only 19.8% of Springfield residents are Black, but they’re being pulled over at higher rates. Data from the Illinois Department of Transportation shows Black motorists were 5.7 times more likely to be pulled over than their counterparts.

Page further commented on these discrepancies, noting that while around 90% of people currently on the road are actively committing some form of traffic violation, the discrepancies in stops and searches between races have remained mostly the same for the past 20 years. 

One solution already being implemented by the Springfield Police Department is a "lights-on voucher program," which aims to address repeated stops for minor vehicle violations. The program works by offering vehicle repair vouchers at participating businesses instead of tickets. 

Page noted that most traffic stops boil down to mechanical violations, which often disproportionally affect low-income individuals who cannot afford to fix their vehicle’s issue easily and eventually lead to subsequent stops down the road and traffic tickets, which make it harder to deal with an already expensive situation. 

The ACLU representatives also suggested regular community meetings with police departments as another way to build community trust. Page says that giving an opportunity for direct, two-way communication would help communities express their needs and grievances while allowing local police to receive feedback on practices and explain themselves constructively. 

More information about the Massey Commission and upcoming meetings can be found on its website: https://sangamonil.gov/departments/a-c/county-board/massey-commission/home 

Logan Bricker recently graduated from University of Illinois Springfield with a master’s degree from the UIS Public Affairs Reporting program. He has been working this semester as an intern for Illinois Times.