Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard was a no-show at Monday’s Village Board meeting, which went on despite an effort by her to cancel it, citing safety threats.
Trustees conducted village business, such as paying bills, but rather than a board meeting the atmosphere inside the Dolton Park District’s Lester Long Fieldhouse was more along the lines of a political pep rally.
Residents sang and there were chants aimed at ousting Henyard, with the meeting taking place ahead of a Feb. 25 primary where Henyard faces a challenge for reelection from Trustee Jason House.
A crowd larger than those seen at recent board meetings filled the fieldhouse, and several residents spoke in support of the House-led Clean House 2025 ticket.
Henyard had issued a notice saying she was canceling the meeting, claiming police had received credible threats against “multiple elected officials.”
“I will not put any residents, elected officials or visitors at risk of harm in our village,” the mayor wrote.
House had issued notice that trustees had not been made aware of any threats and, as the meeting got underway, pointed out that uniformed Dolton police officers were on hand.
Attorney Michael McGrath, whose law firm is legislative counsel to trustees, told a crowd of more than 200 that police “would not allow the meeting to proceed if there had been a credible threat.”
Those in the crowd, before the meeting started, sang along to Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” There were chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Tiffany has got to go.”
That would have been unthinkable a few months ago, when meetings were held at Village Hall and people had to pass through metal detectors to enter. Uniformed officers kept a close eye on proceedings and outbursts were met with a rebuke from police and sometimes removal from the meeting.
Residents had been promoting the meeting as an opportunity to protest against Henyard, using the hashtag #doltonrising and encouraging people to bring newspapers to hold up over their face anytime Henyard tried to speak.
