Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard’s lawsuit claiming a caucus improperly named state Sen. Napoleon Harris the Democratic nominee for supervisor was thrown out by a Cook County judge.
The decision, filed Tuesday and entered Thursday morning, affirms the caucus results, meaning the only option to elect Henyard as supervisor will be for voters to write in her name on Thornton Township’s April 1 ballot.
Henyard sued the Democrats of Thornton Township party committee as well as Harris, in his role as party committeeman, last month, claiming she was unable to compete for the nomination for supervisor because she was not given the rules set by the party ahead of time.
She also said the caucus was held improperly, denying entrance to hundreds of people who sought to vote and could have helped nominate her.
“That evening, I was very confident that I would be victorious and given the nomination because the people really do stand with me,” Henyard said at a news conference last month. “But I was not able to display that because our voices were taken.”
Judge Caroline Moreland wrote the lawsuit was improperly filed originally and since transferring to the correct court decision, passed the filing deadline. The upcoming election comes too soon for the court to hear arguments about the caucus process, according to the judge’s opinion.
“Since the deadline for filing objections has passed, it is clearly apparent that there is no set of facts that would entitle (Henyard) to recover in this case,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
Henyard can still appeal the decision.
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com