The Sangamon County Sheriff's Dept. still needs to change

Sheriff Jack Campbell announced he would retire as of August 31, 2024. This is 8 days after the ballot is finalized in Illinois for the 2024 General Election so it is very likely there will be a new Sheriff appointed by County Board President Andy Van Meter after Labor Day. It’s a result befitting of “The Monkey’s Paw” for activists.

The reason I would have preferred Sheriff Campbell remain in office is the same reason that the new appointed Sheriff needs to come from within the Department. There are numerous family relationships that must be managed inside the department. An outsider will not know or likely care about these relationships. This will reduce morale even further in a department that is under scrutiny. Highly performing deputies that are in the department may leave to get away from it and the poor performing ones remain and cause more grumbling and dissension. We get a lower performing Sheriff’s department that has the potential for worse hiring outcomes.

County board members should be given oversight on the new hiring process, likely through expanding the powers of the Deputy Merit Board. The Merit Board should be permitted to evaluate all information on candidates, conduct background checks and review test scores. It should then issue a scored ranking on suitability for the department and the Sheriff can select from the the top 3 candidates available in the “pool”. It will slow the process but it ensures that our department isn’t hiring deputies solely on the basis of being in the “pool” and being someone’s future son-in-law.

If Sheriff Campbell’s retirement takes “the heat” off of making improvements to our hiring practices in Sangamon County Government, we will be the worse for it. I’m committed to improving this process while keeping the high performing deputies on staff. That’s what I’ll do as your representative on the County Board.

Posted on 09 Aug 2024, 17:03 - Category: Justice for Sonya Massey