Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard was a no-show at Monday’s village and township board meetings.

The emergency township meeting, called by two trustees to address insurance coverage issues, was canceled due to lack of quorum after about 40 people gathered inside the South Holland Public Library.

The Dolton meeting went on despite an effort by her to cancel it, citing safety threats.

Dolton trustees conducted village business, such as paying bills, but rather than a board meeting the atmosphere inside the Dolton Park District’s Lester Long Fieldhouse was more along the lines of a political pep rally.

Residents sang and there were chants aimed at ousting Henyard, with the meeting taking place ahead of a Feb. 25 primary where Henyard faces a challenge for reelection from Trustee Jason House.

A crowd larger than those seen at recent board meetings filled the fieldhouse, and several residents spoke in support of the House-led Clean House 2025 ticket.

Henyard issued a notice saying she was canceling the meeting, claiming police had received credible threats against “multiple elected officials.”

“I will not put any residents, elected officials or visitors at risk of harm in our village,” the mayor wrote.

House issued notice that trustees had not been made aware of any threats and, as the meeting got underway, pointed out that uniformed Dolton police officers were on hand.

Attorney Michael McGrath, whose law firm is legislative counsel to trustees, told a crowd of more than 200 that police “would not allow the meeting to proceed if there had been a credible threat.”

Those in the crowd, before the meeting started, sang along to Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” There were chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Tiffany has got to go.”

That would have been unthinkable a few months ago, when meetings were held at Village Hall and people had to pass through metal detectors to enter. Uniformed officers kept a close eye on proceedings and outbursts were met with a rebuke from police and sometimes removal from the meeting.

Residents had promoted the meeting as an opportunity to protest against Henyard, using the hashtag #doltonrising and encouraging people to bring newspapers to hold up over their face anytime Henyard tried to speak.

Fewer township services

The agenda of the Thornton Township emergency meeting called Monday included approval of auto insurance and property insurance for the township as well as a tax levy for the general fund and general assistance fund.

Trustee Chris Gonzalez, who called for the meeting with Trustee Carmen Carlisle, said township buildings remain closed and vehicles are unable to operate due to lack of insurance. Gonzalez said even if agenda items were approved, Thornton Township would still be short on “extremely crucial” liability and workers compensation insurance coverage.

“Even if we did have a quorum today, we would not have been able to address some of the major insurance issues that we have going on,” Gonzalez said to meeting attendees. “It was a start.”

The continued lack of auto insurance leaves residents over age 60 without the Thornton Township senior transportation program, which provided curbside service to medical appointments and shopping via township buses and vans.

Henyard did not respond to questions about her missing the township meeting. During the last meeting that convened on Dec. 20, Henyard blamed township trustees for the lack of insurance due to their choosing to skip meetings she called.

Gonzalez has refused to attend meetings over the past several months that he believes were called for political reasons rather than to settle the township’s insurance and financial business. Henyard has repeatedly tried to force a vote on a new trustee since former Trustee Gerald Jones resigned in October, Gonzalez said, as well as pushed initiatives like a “100% tax refund for all homeowners” without providing basic information about how it would work.

“There’s always a different crisis in order to try to force something else through,” Gonzalez said. “I get that on the surface, it doesn’t look the best; however, when you kind of peel back the layers of the onion, you’re trying to get to what is really going on.”

Despite the lack of quorum, Gonzalez and Carlisle provided an opportunity for public comment at the library. Several people complained of Henyard’s general lack of transparency as Thornton Township supervisor and Dolton mayor and expressed support for Gonzalez and Carlisle, who have been critical of the administration, sparking verbal pushback from two of Henyard’s allies in attendance.

Resident Paul Robertz questioned whether, since Henyard was appointed to the supervisor position in 2021, Thornton Township should be abolished. He said many of the services the township provides residents can be obtained elsewhere, and eliminating the municipality could prevent wasteful spending.

“If we have to endure four more months of a stubborn supervisor, we need to either establish a survival strategy for Thornton Township or agree to abolish it,” Robertz said. “We must continue to watch how she spends tax dollars, knowing that there’s no county or state law enforcement (stepping in) and knowing that she has made it difficult for us to do our research.”

Lightfoot probe

At the Dolton meeting, many residents aimed remarks critical of Henyard and in support of the Clean House slate.

Former Dolton Trustee Valeria Stubbs said that voters need to “come out in droves” for next month’s primary and to support the entire ticket.

“We can’t pick and choose,” she said. “This woman (Henyard) robbed us blind.”

Trustees hired former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to examine Dolton finances and Henyard’s administration, and Lightfoot last summer detailed how the village went from having budget surpluses to a spending deficit.

House said on Monday Lightfoot will present her final report at a town hall meeting Jan. 27 at the Lester Long Fieldhouse, 14700 Evers St. He said the time of the meeting is not set.

Dolton resident Dan Lee, also commenting about the upcoming primary, used the word “exorcism” and that “we’re in the midst of that process now.”

“We’re in a movement,” he told the audience. “You are part of a movement now.”

With weeks to go before next month’s primary, Trustee Kiana Belcher told those in the audience that “it’s not going to be pretty.”

“This next 50 days will be trying times for all of us,” said Belcher, who is seeking reelection. “We can’t have another four years of what we’ve been through.”

Belcher and Clerk Alison Key, also up for reelection, said if they keep their positions they’ll continue to need residents’ support.

“We’re going to have to dig ourselves out of this mess the next four years,” Belcher said.

“We don’t want you to leave once we take the seats,” Key said, referencing the primary and April 1 election.

“It just doesn’t end in February or April, we have a long road ahead.”