City and county agencies are bracing for anticipated large crowds and demonstrations around the downtown Peoria County Courthouse when the murder trial of Sean Grayson begins Monday.
Multiple road closures will be in effect and parking will be limited in the immediate vicinity as part of a comprehensive public safety and security plan.
“The goal is obviously to just have the trial with no disruptions, but there's a lot of moving parts, a lot of logistics,” said Sheriff Chris Watkins, whose office is working in conjunction with Peoria police and the fire departments in implementing the plan. “We’re planning for a large group, but truly we don't know what that will look like on Monday morning yet.”
Grayson, a former Sangamon County deputy, is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2024 officer-involved fatal shooting of 36-year-old Sonya Massey, of Springfield, an unarmed Black woman who was shot inside her home after calling 911 to report a suspected prowler.
Grayson has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense. In April, Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadagin granted a change of venue motion to have the case tried in Peoria.
“Ever since April, we've been planning and we take this very seriously,” said Watkins. “We knew this was going to be a big trial, nationwide coverage. We already knew right off the bat there was probably going to be some gatherings outside the courthouse.
“So, we started talking to those people that we knew who were organizing those. We plan big; it's a lot easier to plan big and then scale down if you need to, but it's very hard to scale down and then try to hurry up and scale up.”
Gretchen Pearsall, Peoria County’s director of strategic communications, noted while streets around the courthouse may be closed, the county offices inside will remain open during the trial.
“If anyone is looking to come to the courthouse for something that's not related to the trial, you may want to call ahead to that office first, to see if there's a way you can do your county business without having to come down here and try to find parking or deal with crowds,” said Pearsall.
The 200 and 300 blocks of Main Street and 300 block of Hamilton Boulevard will be closed to through traffic during the day, reopening every evening. Metered parking will be unavailable on all four streets around the courthouse block, and the Hamilton parking deck will be closed to the public.
“We do ask that people check the website or with the other parking decks nearby for a list of public parking spaces if they do need to come to the courthouse during that time,” said Pearsall.
She said they don’t have any estimation on how many people might come to the courthouse area for the expected demonstrations.
“We just want to make sure we give them a safe space,” she said. “The sidewalks around the courthouse will remain open so pedestrians can walk all the way around and still either get to the front of the building if they need to get inside, or if they're looking to go get food or anything, if they're going to be down there that day in the public gathering space.”
While both Adams and Jefferson streets will remain open nearby, Watkins noted traffic still will be limited by the ongoing road construction for the “one-way to two-way” conversion project.
“There's just a lot going on around the courthouse right now,” he said. “We have construction inside the courthouse, we have construction outside the courthouse. We have construction on the roads. “So it's not ideal, but we're making it work.”
