Fresh off of the swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Jason House, the Dolton Village Board has approved several new appointments Wednesday, including cutting ties with the village administrator and bringing on a chief of staff.

The board also agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a 2023 police shooting that resulted in a man’s death.

The board also appointed a new public works director and hiring a public relations firm and media director.

House said he received some 50 resumes from people interested in filling key roles in village government, including about 20 who want to become the village’s new police chief.

He said he and trustees want to be thorough in filling jobs, including police chief, and said he is heartened by the number of potential applicants.

“We have had the blighted image as a community,” House said Thursday morning. “It’s encouraging to see so many people willing to work with the community.”

Keith Freeman will “transition” out of his job as Dolton’s village administrator, being replaced immediately by Charles Walls, House said. Walls will be paid $100,000 annually, the mayor said.

House said he received three resumes from people interested in being administrator, and that Walls, a Dolton resident, has an extensive history in banking, a master’s degree in public administration and “I have known him personally for 30 years.”

House said Freeman will assist in the transition to Walls but that, within 30 days, Freeman will “no longer be part of the administration.”

Under former Mayor Tiffany Henyard, trustees had resisted her repeated efforts to dump Freeman.

In April of last year, Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud in a federal indictment, accused of making false statements in his bankruptcy.

The Orland Park resident pleaded not guilty and a status hearing in the matter is set for June 10. According to a filing in the case, it was stated April 9 that plea discussions are ongoing.

House said he did not believe that federal case was a factor in the board’s decision to cut ties with Freeman.

Before his election as mayor, House said trustees were concerned that if Freeman was to have been let go without justification, Dolton would be open to a possible whistleblower lawsuit.

He said Thursday Freeman’s job performance was not sub-par, and that the board is working with its attorneys regarding any possible lawsuit.

Freeman was seen as an ally of Henyard, and that led to what House called an adversarial relationship between the administrator and trustees.

That has changed in the past months, and Freeman has “been nothing short of professional and courteous,” House said.

The board voted to hire the law firm Odelson, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath, as village attorneys.

The firm has been legislative counsel to trustees.

A chief of staff to the mayor, Samysha Williams, was approved Wednesday, with the village resident and former village employee to be paid $75,000 annually, House said.

Williams previously ran for village trustee, and filed a defamation lawsuit against Henyard in February 2024.

Darryl Bunch, who’s worked for the village’s Public Works Department more than 50 years and lives in the village, was named public works superintendent.

The board approved hiring a public relations consultant, High Society Management, which did media work for the House-led Clean House 2025 ticket that ousted Henyard.

The firm will be paid a retainer of $4,000 monthly, according to an agreement approved by trustees.

Following a closed session, the board approved an out-of-court settlement with the estate of Destinie Hall, stemming from the April 2023 shooting death of Timothy McDaniel Hardy.

According to Michael McGrath, partner in Odelson, Murphey, the $150,000 settlement will be paid in two installments. He said Hardy was the father of a child with Hall.

McGrath said the police were called at 5 a.m. to a home on 144th Place for a report of an “unwanted subject,” and found a male apparently asleep in a vehicle in the rear yard of the house.

Police said Hall told them Hardy had “been stalking and harassing her,” and had been at the home and left, McGrath said.

McGrath said officers around the vehicle, saw a firearm in the sleeping man’s lap and police ordered him to put his hands on the steering wheel when the engine began to rev up.

The man, later identified as Hardy, complied with the request but then dropped his hands toward his lap where the gun was, which police interpreted as a threat and shot at him through the driver’s side window, McGrath said.

Because it was an officer-involved shooting, state police took part in the investigation into the death of Hardy, of Gary, Indiana.

McGrath said the board also settled a lawsuit filed against the village by the Better Government Association regarding access to village records through the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The board also approved business and liquor licenses for several businesses that had been held up.

Trustees said previously they had received complaints from some businesses about excessive delays in getting license renewals under Henyard’s administration.

Licenses approved Wednesday included a Checker’s restaurant on Sibley Boulevard, Fifth Third Bank, the White Castle on Sibley off the Bishop Ford Freeway, and Keith’s Auto Repair on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.