{"id":552703,"date":"2026-01-30T00:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552703\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:06:15","slug":"20-year-sentence-for-cop-who-killed-sonya-massey-the-rundown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552703\/","title":{"rendered":"20-year sentence for cop who killed Sonya Massey: The Rundown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon! It\u2019s Thursday, and apparently some methods of wearing a scarf<\/a> are considered trendier than others. Here\u2019s what else you need to know today.<\/p>\n

1. A white former downstate cop received a 20-year sentence for murdering Sonya Massey<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

A jury in October found Sean Grayson guilty of second-degree murder in Sangamon County, my WBEZ colleague Mawa Iqbal reports.<\/p>\n

In a police brutality case that drew national attention, Grayson fatally shot the Black Springfield-area woman in her home in 2024 after she had called 911 to investigate a possible prowler. He faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.<\/p>\n

Massey\u2019s friends and family members \u2014 many of them wearing Sonya\u2019s favorite color, purple \u2014 sat tightly packed in six rows of benches inside the Springfield courtroom. They erupted into cheers when Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin imposed the sentence.<\/p>\n

Sonya\u2019s mother, Donna Massey, tearfully told the judge she is now afraid to call the police, out of fear she will end up like her daughter.<\/p>\n

Grayson said he made \u201cmany mistakes that night\u201d and wishes he could bring Massey back. [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

2. Trump\u2019s deployment of National Guard members to Chicago cost taxpayers $21 million, a congressional report says<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

That figure is despite the troops being confined to bases amid federal court battles, my colleague Tina Sfondeles reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, along with nine of their Senate colleagues, requested the report from the Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n

Since June, domestic deployments of National Guard personnel or active-duty Marine Corps members to six U.S. cities \u2014 Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Memphis, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Chicago and New Orleans \u2014 totaled about $496 million through the end of December, the report found. Senators had asked for the costs to activate, deploy and compensate guard members, the operational, logistical and sustainment costs and any additional direct or indirect costs.<\/p>\n

In light of the report, Durbin called the deployments \u201can abhorrent violation of the Constitution\u201d and \u201ca harmful diversion of federal resources.\u201d Duckworth said the deployments were \u201can immense waste of taxpayer dollars\u201d and called them \u201charmful to our military\u2019s readiness, morale and resources.\u201d [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

3. Extreme weather has spurred a national blood supply shortage. Here\u2019s how to help<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

More than 400 blood drives nationally were affected by severe weather, causing thousands of blood donations to go uncollected, the American Red Cross said this month.<\/p>\n

The organization, responsible for supplying about 40% of the nation\u2019s blood supply, urged people to donate blood to ensure that patients don\u2019t experience delays in receiving lifesaving care. Nationally, blood donation shortages are most severe for platelets and types O, A negative and B negative blood.<\/p>\n

Versiti Blood Center of Illinois, a blood drive operator in the area, said it suffered a blood supply shortage this month. UChicago Medical Center, University of Illinois Health and Northwestern Medicine told the Chicago Sun-Times they haven\u2019t experienced shortages yet but still urged people to donate. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

4. Women\u2019s sports fans will have a new place to hang out with the opening of Level Sporting Club<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Founded by former Northwestern University basketball player Clarissa Flores, the bar will be near the heart of sports bars crowding around Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n

As my colleague Mariah Rush reports for the Chicago Sun-Times, the 5,632-square-foot space, previously home to the seafood boil restaurant Lowcountry, should open at the end of April.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a Chicago sports bar where women\u2019s sports takes center stage,\u201d Flores said. \u201cJust as we would walk into any regular Chicago sports bar and men\u2019s sports is a priority … that\u2019s going to be flipped here.\u201d [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

5. James Rondeau is ready to expand the Art Institute\u2019s footprint \u2014 and put that airplane incident behind him<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Running an art museum may be one of the toughest arts jobs right now, thanks to cuts in federal support, philanthropic pullbacks, sociopolitical jabs from the left and right and existential questions about the relevance of such institutions in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

The Art Institute of Chicago has not been entirely immune to these challenges, including a 7% post-pandemic attendance decline that stems in part from a drop in international traffic to the United States.<\/p>\n

But James Rondeau, marking the 10th anniversary of his appointment as president and director this month, is pushing ahead. The museum has a billion-dollar endowment that\u2019s increased 70% during his tenure and about 1,000 art acquisitions each year. Meanwhile, the number of local visitors has increased since the museum significantly boosted its free-access program, which drew 300,000 visitors in 2025.<\/p>\n

The ambitious former contemporary curator also started this year trying to course correct from April 2025, when he reportedly stripped his clothes after drinking alcohol and taking prescription medication on a flight from Chicago to Germany. Rondeau subsequently took a 1\u00bd-month volunteer leave from his position. [WBEZ\/Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what else is happening<\/b><\/p>\n