2 Thornton Township trustees will skip Monday meeting amid tensions with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard
2 Thornton Township trustees will skip Monday meeting amid tensions with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard
Two Thornton Township trustees at odds with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard announced in a letter on Sunday that they will not attend Monday night's special board meeting, preventing a quorum and halting the session.
THORNTON TOWNSHIP, Ill. - Two Thornton Township trustees at odds with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard announced in a letter on Sunday that they will not attend Monday night's special board meeting, preventing a quorum and halting the session.
Trustees Chris Gonzalez and Carmen Carlisle said Henyard scheduled the meeting without their input and provided no details about insurance issues that have effectively shuttered township operations.
Insurance contracts lapsed at the end of November, leaving the township vulnerable to potential liability.
No official township board meetings have been held in months. Gonzalez and Carlisle claim Henyard has withheld information necessary to conduct business and allege she intends to fill a vacant trustee position with an ally, tipping the balance of power on the board in her favor.
In an email to Henyard this week, the trustees wrote: "We firmly believe that all stakeholders – trustees, staff and yourself – have an obligation to represent the township with dignity and pride. There is a better way to govern, and we are ready to do our part to improve the situation."
Nate Fields is one of the candidates are emerging to oust Henyard.
"There’s a temper tantrum being held at the Township right now. Someone’s on their backs, kicking and screaming and fussing because they’re not getting their way. We all see it, you know, it’s like dealing with a bunch of kids, you know," Fields said.
Sidney Moore is also running for the position.
"With a position like this you have to have professional decorum. She hasn’t shown that. And there’s so much with Tiffany, we all know this, people have spoken about her actions. That’s why most of us are running we see a problem with that," Moore said.
The Thornton Township building is closed due to non-payment of insurance.
The City of Harvey offered its public space for Thornton Township to hold a meeting today at 4 p.m.
Trustees Gonzalez and Carlisle said that doesn’t work for them either.