Tiffany Henyard sues Dolton village trustees, park district over controversial board meeting

DOLTON, Ill. - Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard is suing several village trustees, the Dolton Park District, the elected clerk and the village administrator following a controversial meeting held on Monday.

Henyard, along with two trustees, Stanley Brown and Andrew Holmes, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, naming Village Clerk Alison Key, trustees Tammie Brown, Brittney Norwood, Jason House, Kiana Belcher, Village Administrator Keith Freeman and the Dolton Park District as defendants.

The lawsuit revolves around the regular board of trustees meeting, which is scheduled for the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. These meetings are supposed to be open to the public, with the mayor, trustees and village clerk in attendance.

On Sept. 3, Henyard said the Illinois Attorney General issued an opinion which directed the village to improve accessibility for public meetings, including using larger spaces to accommodate the public and to avoid unnecessary security measures.

According to the lawsuit, Henyard instructed Village Administrator Keith Freeman to ensure the Oct. 7 meeting followed the Attorney General’s guidelines. However, the lawsuit stated that Freeman refused to communicate. In response, the mayor allegedly worked with other village officials to prepare the Village Hall for the meeting.

The lawsuit claimed that on Oct. 4, the agenda for the Oct. 7 meeting was posted at the Village Hall as required by law. But alongside it, another agenda reportedly appeared, calling for a "Regular Meeting" at the Dolton Park District’s Lester Long Building. That agenda was allegedly signed by trustees Norwood, Belcher and Brown.

When Henyard and other village officials arrived at the Village Hall for the meeting on Oct. 7, none of the defendants, including the trustees and the village clerk, were reportedly present. Without enough board members to meet quorum, Henyard allegedly told the public that the meeting would be canceled.

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Henyard was later informed that a separate meeting was taking place at the Dolton Park District, organized by the same trustees who had reportedly signed the alternate agenda.

The mayor said she went to the park district to preside over the meeting and carry out village business, but when she arrived, the defendants were allegedly conducting business, including voting on and passing ordinances, with House presiding over the meeting as "mayor pro tem."

When Henyard attempted to preside over the meeting, she was allegedly met with chaos and jeers.

The lawsuit accuses the trustees of overstepping their authority and undermining the governance of the village. The suit is asking the court to declare the Village Hall as the proper location for public meetings and prevent future meetings from being held at the Dolton Park District. 

It also seeks to invalidate any decisions made during Monday's meeting.

FOX 32 reached out to the defendants listed in the lawsuit for comment, but has not yet heard back.