Thornton Township trustees agreed to push back a vote on their 2025 budget proposal during a sparsely attended board meeting Tuesday night in South Holland.
Supervisor Tiffany Henyard and Trustee Darlene Gray Everett were absent from the meeting that included on the agenda adopting the 2025 budgets for the general fund and general appropriation funds, paying township bills and approving upcoming events totaling almost $40,000.
Henyard, who had two of her own initiatives on the agenda, has not been seen at the board table since she joined a brawl that during the township’s meeting Jan. 28.
Trustees Christopher Gonzalez, Carmen Carlisle and Stephanie Wiedeman voting together on all items, but decided to table their budget proposals for a second time, saying they needed to get more answers about Thornton Township finances.
“I’m hoping we could do something pretty soon, maybe, at the earliest, at the next meeting,” said Gonzalez, who was appointed pro tem supervisor in Henyard’s absence. “But there’s still some fluid things that we’re trying to figure out, get some more information.”
Wiedeman said at the last meeting the trustees worked with Finance Director Robert Hunt to create a balanced budget, which Henyard’s proposal was not.
The proposals for general fund, general assistance fund and road and bridge fund are available at thorntontownship.com. The 2025 general fund proposal budgets $13.3 million in spending, with $5.8 million going toward administration, $1.8 million to the senior services department and $1.7 million for the community outreach and engagement department.
The 2024 general fund budget showed the township received $16 million in revenue and spent about $15 million over the fiscal year.
The board also voted Tuesday to table approval of events, including a “country and western shindig” and a Valentines Day dance planned for this week, as well as explicitly denying funding for a proposed Valentines luncheon for seniors and township employees totaling $5,000.
Wiedeman said she chose not to vote on the events in part due to the board not approving the year’s budget.
“I just would feel more comfortable if there was some more discussion around the events and the budgeting,” Wiedeman said. “I’m still trying to get a grasp on what’s happening financially.”
To ensure safety, the 10 or so people who came to the Township Hall were seated downstairs, with the board and members of the media in the upstairs meeting room. However, those who wished to speak were brought up to face the board during public comment.
Jennifer Robertz, of Lansing, called out Henyard for contributing to an unsafe atmosphere at the township by jumping into the brawl that broke out after community activist Jedidiah Brown called Henyard an expletive during public comment. She said as the township’s leader, she is setting a poor example for residents and those who might look to her for guidance.
“We were here to witness the mayhem in real time,” Robertz said. “While I understand that words may hurt, violence is never the answer. Instead of learning from her mistakes and setting the example that young Black and brown people really need, she would rather show them that if they want something so badly they should do what she does, which is fight, steal and lie.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
