“Mayor Henyard Absent from First Meeting Following Primary Defeat to Trustee Jason House; Board Makes Decisions”

DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) — Despite Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s absence, the village board proceeded to authorize various collective bargaining agreements and significant payments relating to lawsuits.

Weeks before spring, it is a season of change in Dolton.

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“I hope you all feel like I feel like a fresh breeze is blowing through the village of Dolton,” one man said during public comment.

Henyard did not attend the recent village board session following her substantial loss to Dolton Trustee Jason House in the Democratic mayoral primary last week.

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“This board is about making sure that we listen to the residents, and we are able to actually take things and put them into action,” House said.

During the meeting, trustees greenlit modifications to the collective bargaining deal for Dolton firefighters and finalized a contract for police records technicians.

The board also cleared the way for the approval of a liquor license for one Dolton bar almost a year after the owner sued the village, alleging in a federal lawsuit that Henyard refused to renew the license after he declined to give her a campaign contribution.

Trustees also approved a $35,000 settlement for a former village worker who alleged in a lawsuit that she was fired for refusing to do campaign work. Messages left for Henyard’s attorney requesting comment on that settlement and on that bar’s liquor license renewal were not returned.

“Let us believe that the atmosphere has shifted, and the light is shining brightly over Dolton,” one woman said during public comment.

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