Four months after the basement of Thornton Township Hall erupted into a brawl that included the township’s supervisor, hundreds of people packed the same space Monday in celebration of new leadership.

The swearing in of new township officials marked the end of Tiffany Henyard’s short, tumultuous period of leadership in the south suburbs.

Jason House in Dolton and State Sen. Napoleon Harris in Thornton Township have taken the reins from the former mayor and township supervisor, with both having campaigned on a clean slate for their communities.

“This moment is for working families, for every small business owner, for their neighbors that believe that local government should be about service,” state Sen. Napoleon Harris told supporters Monday afternoon, after taking office as supervisor of the township of about 185,000 residents, according to the Thornton Township website.

Federal investigators have at least twice before visited Dolton and Thornton Township in search of documents, including expense reimbursements and other payments made to Henyard. No charges have been filed.

“We speak in different voices. We live in different parts of this township, from Dolton to South Holland, Harvey to Lansing, Calumet City to Phoenix, Markham to Dixmoor. Make not mistake about it, we are one community. And with that being said, there is nothing we cannot achieve together.”

Inaugurated alongside Harris were new township trustees Mary Avent, Casey Nesbit and Valeria Stubbs as well as reelected trustee Christopher Gonzalez.

As they exited office, Harris presented service awards to officials who chose not to seek reelection, including Trustees Stephanie Wiedeman and Carmen Carlisle, Highway Commissioner Gary DePue and Clerk Loretta Wells. DePue was replaced by Antwon D. Russell and Wells by Casey A. Nesbit.

Neither Henyard nor outgoing Trustee Darlene Gray Everett, who tended to side with the former supervisor in board conflicts, attended the ceremony. Henyard sought reelection as supervisor but was unable to get her name on the ballot.

Harris gained the Democratic nomination during a caucus in December and sailed through the general election with 74% of the vote.

In his first action as supervisor, Harris appointed Odelson, Murphy, Frazier and McGrath law firm to replace Del Galdo Law Group in representing the township. With full board approval, he also appointed a township administrator and an information technology director.

With the swearing in taking place during a public meeting, attendees were given the opportunity to sign up for comment. Vivian Allen, a community activist in Dolton and Thornton Township, thanked the new administration for promising to lead with transparency and “to fix what has been broken.”

“In 2025, we got our township back,” Allen said.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com