The murder of a Springfield, Illinois woman by a sheriff's deputy has renewed interest in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Sean Grayson, the ex-deputy with the Sangamon Count Sheriff's Office who shot Sonya Massey, never should have been allowed to be a law enforcement officer, according to Representative Robin Kelly. 

"There's no way that someone who's had six different jobs in four years — some sort of red light, blue light, stop light should go off," said Kelly. "And there's other people who have lost their lives, where when we looked into it, they left one police station and came to other police station."

Kelly refers to these types of people as "wandering officers." Right now, when an officer resigns while being investigated, or moves to another department, their disciplinary record may not show all of the information about their history. 

Representative Kelly co-sponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The plan would create a federal registry of police misconduct complaints, which would keep officers with concerning behavior from wearing a badge. 

"This veil of secrecy actually protects officers who are doing things they should be fired for and should be excluded from the profession," said Nina Patel, ACLU Senior Policy Counsel. "You should be able to know that the people that are patrolling your neighborhoods are individuals who are not engaging in police misconduct or brutality, especially if they are armed." 

The ACLU is one of many national civil rights organizations that has supported the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and hopes to get it passed in Congress. The act also reduces the applications of qualified immunity and gives the Justice Department more ways to investigate police departments, among other actions. You can read the full act here. 

The Springfield Urban League says this type of comprehensive police reform is the only way to truly build trust between the community and law enforcement. President and CEO Marcus Johnson says the death of Sonya Massey was not an isolated event, but a pattern that can be seen nationwide. 

"We have to start looking at the systems and structures that allow bad apples to spoil the bunch," said Johnson. "We need the funding that will be potentially made available for the community to get engaged in a more intentional way with the hiring process, as well as the accountability and transparency processes."

The Springfield Urban League is part of the National Urban League, which has also been a part of advocating for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The act was re-introduced and passed through the House of Representatives.

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