Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – $159,947.84.
That’s the cost to Sangamon County for holding the Sean Grayson trial in Peoria. Grayson was convicted of Second Degree Murder for the death of Sonya Massey in 2024.
The Sangamon County Board last week approved paying the bill after administrator Brian McFadden says the bills were scrutinized.
“The $47,000 figure is what we were invoiced by the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office,” said Brian McFadden, County Administrator. “Overtime hours for deputies, meals for deputies, temporary fences put around the courthouse. The $105,579.68 came from the City of Peoria, for police overtime and public works overtime during the duration of the trial.”
Police were stations with guns on roofs of buildings surrounding the Peoria County Courthouse. Public Works bulldozers and other vehicles were used to block streets around the roads, for both security and so protesters would have a place to gather. There also were transportation costs for jury members, and other expenses, such as jury pay.
“Some of the invoices did have details. Some of them were just simply a number on a piece of paper, which is not how we operate, not how we do things around here,” says McFadden. “I did ask the auditor’s office to work with Peoria County, and they were very responsive. They provided us all the information to verify that what we were paying for did happen.”
Grayson was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison — the maximum for a Second Degree Murder conviction. It was an option given to jurors if they didn’t feel he was guilty of First Degree Murder. However, under Truth in Sentencing Act rules, Grayson could serve less than half. He also has cancer that spread to several organs, so it could end up being an effective life sentence.
