Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard defies trustees' meeting postponement

DOLTON - Tensions rose once again in the Village of Dolton as Mayor Tiffany Henyard proceeded with a meeting that trustees postponed, sparking yet another clash between the mayor and the Village Board.

The controversy stems from the trustees' decision to reschedule Tuesday’s regular board meeting – postponing it until Thursday, September 12. A spokesperson for the village trustees said the change was necessary to address "several urgent matters," including finalizing the village budget, establishing a new bank account, and hiring a new auditor.

Henyard’s attorney, however, shared the meeting would still go on as originally scheduled.

Despite only two trustees being present on Tuesday night – Andrew Holmes and Stanley Brown – Henyard decided to hold court.

"As you can see, the Board of Trustees decided not to show up, nor did the clerk," Henyard said Tuesday evening.

Much of the meeting featured a monologue by the mayor who says there is a smear campaign against her.

"What I would like to say, mayor and us six trustees, we need to get it together," said Trustee Stanley Brown.

With no quorum, Henyard announced nothing would be voted on; still, she gave department heads the opportunity to offer updates. Henyard – who has dubbed herself ‘Super Mayor’ – took the floor.

About 20 residents were in attendance.  

"Wake up, pay attention, do your research on everybody, can’t be just, ‘I want to research the mayor.’ Research everybody, then you'll understand the fight, you’ll understand why things is the way it is, because when we took over, we came and cleaned up the Village of Dolton," said Henyard. "What I mean by that is, when we got a complaint, I told them, please make sure you take care of the residents."

Henyard also appointed a new village attorney and a village administrator Tuesday – despite one already holding the latter role.

"She can't appoint one because Keith Freeman is still the village administrator," said Valeria Stubbs, former village trustee. "All of that was illegal. Once she didn't have a quorum, the meeting should have been adjourned."

Henyard’s attorney, Beau Brindley, argues that trustees failed to provide proper notice for the postponement, which he claims violates Illinois law.

"The mayor was given no notice by the board that they were going to cancel or postpone or do anything with this meeting," Brindley said, adding that state law requires the notice of 10 days to reschedule or cancel a regular meeting.

Brindley says he believes the board's actions are interfering with Henyard’s ability to perform her duties as mayor. On Tuesday evening, he gave an impassioned speech advocating for Henyard.

As Henyard was introducing Brindley, Trustee Brown asked to be excused.

"Make no mistake about it, Mayor Tiffany Henyard is under attack," Brindley said. "This attack comes in the form of false statements; this attack comes in the form of frivolous lawsuits and unconstitutional recall efforts."

The clash over Tuesday’s meeting came on the same day Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a binding opinion regarding two recent Dolton board meetings. He found that Mayor Henyard and the village board "violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA)" by failing to make its June 3rd and July 1st meetings "convenient and open to the public."

The opinion was issued after three residents filed formal complaints over the summer.

Raoul is now directing the board to "take immediate and appropriate action to comply" by ensuring all future meetings are conveniently scheduled and held at locations where there is enough space.

Henyard closed Tuesday’s meeting by saying she is excited to announce she will soon be holding a State of the Village address.  

She says she has "receipts" and tells residents to stay tuned.  

The postponed meeting is the latest in a series of disputes between Henyard and village trustees, adding to ongoing drama within the Dolton government.