Details of lawsuits filed in recent weeks in federal court by former Dolton and Thornton Township employees cite a pattern of unlawful firing and retaliation by Tiffany Henyard in her roles as mayor and township supervisor.
They portray Henyard as vindictive against any perceived enemies, and during an attempt to recall her through a village referendum she is alleged to have directed employees to campaign against the effort while on village time and told village workers “we’re at war with the trustees” who orchestrated the recall effort.
A public relations firm that works on behalf of the village and Henyard did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on the lawsuits, copies of which were provided to the firm. A law firm representing Dolton has previously said it’s not authorized to comment on litigation filed against the village.
The Daily Southtown earlier this month reached out to Dolton and township officials for comment regarding the lawsuits but has not received a response.
One lawsuit, filed by a high-level Thornton Township employee who was dismissed, alleged she worked from her car after being locked out of township offices and suffered a heart attack due to stress over not being paid for her work.
Henyard, previously a village trustee, was elected mayor in April 2021 after narrowly winning a three-way contest that February in the Democratic primary.
She survived a recall referendum put to voters in June 2022. After 56% of voters who cast ballots supported her ouster, a state appellate court overturned the results in a decision that September.
Some of the trustees that ran on the same ticket with Henyard when she was elected mayor worked to get the recall question on the ballot.
Henyard called the lineup of trustees a “dream team,” after the election, but the relationship quickly turned sour.
The Thornton Township Board appointed Henyard supervisor in March 2022, filling a vacancy created by the death of former longtime Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli.
Sandra Tracy filed a lawsuit March 13, identifying Thornton Township, Henyard, in her position as township supervisor, and Keith Freeman, an assistant to Henyard in the township, as defendants. Freeman is also village administrator for Dolton.
Tracy said she worked as human resources manager for the township and was unfairly fired in September 2022 after taking leave for a surgery.
She says that she began her leave in February 2022, shortly before Henyard was sworn in as township supervisor in early March of that year.
Tracy alleges that when she returned from leave in June 2022, she was demoted to a clerk in the human resources department but denied access to a work station inside the township offices in South Holland.
She claims she offered to work from the building’s public lobby but was told she could not and was eventually locked out of the building.
Tracy said that from June 7 through Sept. 14 2022, she either worked from her home or from her car in the township parking lot. She said that she went for more than a month continuing to do her job without pay while at the same time caring for her seriously ill husband.
Tracy said that in mid-August 2022 she suffered a heart attack brought on “due to the stress of dealing with the circumstances surrounding her employment and lack of pay,” then informed by a township attorney in a Sept. 14 email that she was fired.
She is alleging, among other things, retaliatory discharge and infliction of emotional distress and seeking back pay and damages. A status hearing on the case is scheduled for June 6.
Karen Johnson, who had worked as an administrative assistant in Dolton’s public works department, filed her complaint March 13 against the village, Henyard and Freeman, also alleging that her constitutional rights were violated when she was fired in August 2022.
Johnson said that prior to the June 2022 recall referendum, Henyard asked village employees to work on her behalf, including making door-to-door visits to voters and making phone calls, including when they were on the village’s time.
She claims in her lawsuit that, following the recall vote but before the results were overturned, Henyard “began a retaliatory campaign towards many Dolton residents, business owners employees and village trustees.”
Johnson says in her lawsuit she was improperly fired in August 2022 for violating employee policy for using her work computer to search for news stories about Henyard.
She said that Henyard did not condone village employees who appeared to not be on her side, and that she and “all other village employees who defied Henyard or did anything she did not like for one reason or another were terminated,” and that this was the “unofficial policy” of the village administration.
Samysha Williams, who ran unsuccessfully as a Dolton trustee and worked for the village, also sued March 13 in federal court, also alleging a pattern of vindictive behavior by Henyard after she lost the recall vote but prior to the state appeals court that overturned the results.
She also has a lawsuit pending in Cook County Circuit Court, filed in February, alleging that while running for trustee last year she was defamed by Henyard in campaign filings that alleged she had defrauded the village as an employee.
Williams, in the federal court complaint, alleges that after losing the recall vote, Henyard “began to engage in retaliatory actions towards many Dolton residents, business owners, employees and trustees.”
She said that some of the actions included directing village department chiefs to not respond to requests to public documents filed under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Williams said that Henyard would openly tell village employees “we’re at war with the trustees” who orchestrated the recall and have since been at odds with the mayor.
Williams had worked in the village’s code enforcement office and alleges Henyard told her to withhold permits to Dolton residents and business owners unless they donated to the mayor’s campaign. Williams said that she was fired in early August 2022 when a Dolton police officer arrived at her doorstep delivering a letter notifying of her termination, but said the letter did not contain a name or signature nor reason for her firing.
She is seeking back pay, damages and attorney fees.
Stephanie Wiedeman filed a lawsuit Jan. 22, although there has been no activity in the case since.
She said she lives in Thornton and has been an “outspoken critic” of Henyard on social media and also attending Dolton Village Board meetings.
She previously worked as chief of staff for Thornton Township.
She contends her constitutional rights have been violated due to alleged harassment by village police. Wiedeman said she had worked for Thornton Township for 20 years.
She cited one alleged instance of harassment during a Tea with Trustees session June 11, 2022. Trustees have held such events to talk with residents and field questions.
This tea took place prior to the June 2022 recall referendum, and Wiedeman says a village employee was placing pro-Henyard fliers on car windshields outside the meeting.
Wiedeman said she pulled the fliers from her car and from other vehicles of meeting attendees who asked her to do so, but said Henyard notified police and three officers arrived.
Wiedeman said she was taken to the police station, charged with misdemeanor theft, and released on bond, but the charge was ultimately dropped in March 2023.
She also cites in the lawsuit an incident at a Sept. 8, 2022, Village Board meeting where she was escorted out by a Dolton officer because a police report had been made against her for harassment.
Wiedeman said Henyard had called police and told them that Wiedeman had attended a Village Board meeting, during which she “stared” at the mayor, which Henyard interpreted as an attempt at intimidation and harassment.
