Dozens of Thornton Township residents gathered Saturday in Calumet City to protest and organize against Tiffany Henyard, the embattled mayor of Dolton who is also township supervisor.
The rally, in the old Sears parking lot at River Oaks Center, was a first step to organizing the community against Henyard, they said.
Henyard has come under criticism, and investigation, for lavish trips, awarding contracts and spending of village and township funds.
The supervisor salary ballooned to $224,000 under her predecessor, Frank Zuccarelli, but it’s still far in excess of a normal salary for the position, generally under $50,000 for Cook County, according to the Township Officials of Illinois group. Henyard was appointed supervisor after Zuccarelli’s death in 2022.
But now, Thornton residents say it’s time for new leadership amid questions about how township tax revenue is spent. Townships are responsible for some road and bridge maintenance as well as indigent and social services.
Some of the complaints stem from the township’s annual meeting earlier this month, when Henyard ran through the annual budget numbers though, her critics said, without providing any written details or copies of the budget.
Mary Avent, who created the Advisory Committee to the People’s Trustees of Dolton, addresses Thorntown Township residents April 27, 2024, in the former Sears parking lot at River Oaks. (Jesse Wright/for Daily Southtown)
Mary Avent, chairperson of Advisory Committee to the People’s Trustees of Dolton, a group she formed earlier this year to unify residents of the 17 township communities, urged residents to come together to oppose Henyard. She said she hopes enough public pressure will force state and local elected leaders to investigate the township’s finances and get to the bottom of why, Avent says, taxes go up but basic public services get slashed.
“This is a call to action to state representatives to do something,” Avent said. “Our taxes are outrageous — have some of the highest taxes. And why are we paying these high taxes? We’re not getting anything.”
So far, the work has been slow. The group will roll out a Facebook page soon and, in the meantime, Avent said residents may call her at 708-932-2409 to help or receive updates.
“Anybody that wants can call,” she said. “I’m here.”
She said residents used to get small tax rebate checks from the township as well as reasonably good public services, but those days are gone. Instead, the residents have gotten little more than questions about where their money is going and no answers.
Stephanie Wiedeman, who addressed the crowd Saturday, said the township used to have a helpful and decent mental health office to aid residents, but it’s no longer able to meet the needs of the community.
“Those services have sadly diminished with people passing away and not being replaced,” Wiedeman said.
Wiedeman worked for the township until she was terminated in 2022.
One woman who attended, Tracy Morris, agreed things have gotten worse in recent years. Morris said she usually works and can’t make public meetings, so she hadn’t been paying attention to the slow decline of township services. But she said it’s real and she finally has noticed something’s not right.
“It’s absolutely time for a change,” she said. “The officials need to be open and honest, because something’s going on.”
She said her own street, which once got regular repairs, is now cracked and full of potholes.
“The infrastructure isn’t here,” Morris said.
Stephanie Wiedeman, one of the speakers at Saturday’s event and a former employee of the township, agreed township services have been cut, leaving some residents wanting more. (Jesse Wright/for Daily Southtown)
Wiedeman wasn’t the only former employee to speak out against Henyard’s management.
“Of the 198 people we had working for the township when I was there, 138 have been fired,” said Sandra Tracy, a former human resources manager of the township. “These people were unceremoniously fired and dismissed without any opportunity to share their knowledge with their successors.”
Tracy is among a handful of former employees suing the township for wrongful termination. That suit was filed in March.
Meanwhile, services were shuttered and the township’s finances including expenses remain a mystery, she said.
“It’s important to know when they pass the budget how the money is spent,” said Wiedeman. “It’s our money. We have every right to know where it’s going.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
