DOLTON, Ill. — Tiffany Henyard, the polarizing mayor of the Chicago suburb of Dolton, appointed new village staff members Tuesday night, despite the village board of trustees trying to cancel the meeting where the appointments took place.
One of the appointees was a new village administrator, even though former Henyard ally Keith Freeman is still doing the job.
This all happened at a meeting the Dolton Board of Trustees postponed until next week — a move Henyard’s lawyer said they did illegally, so the Dolton mayor held a meeting without them.
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“It’s called the Open Meetings Act — (It) says you have to give 10 days of notice to the public,” said Beau Brindley, Henyard’s lawyer. “They didn’t give any notice.”
Earlier Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office found Dolton violated the Open Meetings Act at its June and July meetings after complaints from residents that Henyard’s administration limited seating, blocked the entrances to village hall with barriers and created a hostile environment.
The acting police chief at the time cited threats to Henyard’s safety, including a letter mailed to Henyard’s mom’s house that was written in blue marker and stated, “See you in prison your mother raised a Loser!! Your mother is a Loser!”
Raoul’s office found that the letter, which was mailed from Rhode Island, was the only evidence the board provided in support of the manner in which it conducted the meetings in question.
The letter was critical and insulting, but Raoul’s office found it did not implicitly or explicitly threaten violence. More importantly, the letter also did not arrive until after the two meetings occurred.
Tuesday night’s meeting was much less attended, where NewsNation affiliate WGN counted fewer than 20 people who showed up.
“Just pay attention to who brings all the drama to your community,” Henyard said. “That’s how you know everybody are plants in the audience.”
Last week, Henyard couldn’t hold a meeting in Thornton Township, where she is supervisor, because the trustees there did not show up amid an ongoing power struggle in both governments.
