Sangamon County voters agreed to a half-percent sales tax increase to fund a new mental health board, which supporters say will address unmet needs.
Such boards are in place in more than half the counties across Illinois. But the Sangamon County effort grew out of Sonya Massey’s murder. The unarmed Black woman was shot and killed by a former deputy after calling 9-1-1 for help. She has been experiencing a mental health crisis.
A broad coalition backed the referendum, from law enforcement to health care professionals and business leaders, which passed 53-47 percent.
The Sangamon County Board still has to vote to create the board, which is expected, and appointments will be made. While the exact plans for the board will be decided later, resources will be used for case management, early intervention, coordinate crisis response and more.
According to projections from the Sangamon County Mental Health Commission report, the proposed increase means shoppers would pay roughly five cents more on a $10 purchase, although this excludes groceries, prescriptions and other items exempt under Illinois sales tax law.
SCMHC member Dr. Kari Wolf, who serves as professor and chair of psychiatry at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, said the larger problems were financial and structural.
“Mental health is underfunded and funded separately from the rest of the health care delivery system, and that’s a national problem,” Wolf said. “Without that supplemental funding, communities just aren’t able to meet the mental health and substance use needs of their residents.”
Wolf said the impact of that realization has forced counties and municipalities to rely on supplemental local funding because traditional revenue streams do not adequately support services. Wolf says that impact needs to extend beyond crisis response and into everyday conditions such as depression and anxiety.
“These are highly treatable conditions,” she says, “but mental health care has historically been carved out of the broader health system, and that leaves gaps in access and outreach.”
Crouch holds on to sheriff’s race
Sangamon County Sheriff Paula Crouch held off a challenge from retired deputy David Timm 54-46 percent in a GOP primary.
Crouch, the first woman to hold the office, was appointed after Jack Campbell resigned in 2024 in the aftermath of the Sonya Massey shooting. She won her first election after a long career in law enforcement. Crouch had the backing of Campbell and former sheriff Neil Williamson.
Democrat Marc Bell dropped out of the race last month, but the ballots had already been printed. His votes received will not count and the party has until June to slate a candidate for the office.
Ball-Chatham referendum approved
Voters in the Ball-Chatham School District gave the OK to issuing $110-million dollars in building bonds. The district held a series of public meetings to lay out facility needs. Those include roofing, security, replacement of fire alarm systems, repairs to classrooms, windows, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems.
The estimated cost to the average homeowner was listed at an additional $145 dollars per year on property tax bills.
The measure passed 53-47 percent.
Other
Voters approved the Illiopolis Fire Protection District request to raise the tax rate while an advisory question on allowing hens to be kept in residential areas in Rochester failed.
In a contested race for Sangamon County Board District 18, newcomer Miguel Valente defeated incumbent Sam Cahnman 63-37 percent. In District 3, David Mendenhall won over Samantha Auby.
Find all the county results, including precinct totals, at the Sangamon County Clerk’s website.