Mayor Tiffany Henyard and Trustee Jason House each filed petitions by Monday’s deadline to run for Dolton Village President within the February major, and 9 candidates filed to run for 3 village trustee seats on the poll .
Information for submitting candidates for city places of work was not instantly out there Tuesday as places of work in South Holland have been closed for the day to honor the birthday of former longtime supervisor Frank Zuccarelli.
But it seems that a number of trustees and maybe Henyard don’t have any plans to run within the major, as an alternative focusing their run as independents on the April election.
Henyard is beneath federal scrutiny as each mayor of Dolton and supervisor of Thornton Township.
Federal investigators since this spring have issued subpoenas searching for data on Henyard, individuals affiliated along with her and organizations beneath her management at Dolton Village Hall and South Holland municipal places of work, in addition to the 205 Thornton District Township High School.
An lawyer representing Henyard stated she had executed nothing unsuitable.
Filing within the major for Dolton village clerk are Alison Key and challenger Tannika Hughes.
The candidates searching for the trustee seat are incumbents Kiana Belcher, Brittney Norwood and former trustee Edward “Ed” Steave, who’re operating with House and Key. Steave is a former trustee who misplaced his bid for re-election final 12 months.
Challenging them are Joslyn King, Devon Lewis, Charles Rayburn, Christina I. Spraggins, Linda Terrell and Vanessa R. Wesco, based on the village clerk.
Elected to her first time period in April 2021 as Dolton’s first Black feminine mayor, Henyard was appointed supervisor following Zuccarelli’s dying on January 3, 2022.
House, who initially supported and ran with Henyard in 2021, is making an attempt to oust her and is operating on his personal slate of candidates.
House is operating for re-election as a trustee, so he will probably be off the village board if defeated in his bid for mayor.
Trustee Andrew Holmes was re-elected final 12 months, as was Trustee Tammie Brown. Stanley Brown was elected to his first time period and isn’t operating for re-election.
Henyard introduced on Facebook this month that he’ll search re-election as mayor of Dolton and that an occasion to announce his slate of candidates will probably be held in November.
Aside from the surface federal investigation, the Dolton authorities has been wracked by clashes amongst trustees and with Henyard, and lawsuits filed over points corresponding to the place village board conferences needs to be held.
Appointments to key positions corresponding to police chief are up within the air, and former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot this summer time painted a bleak monetary image of the village, which has gone from a funding surplus to a multimillion-dollar deficit.
Dolton faces a compelled audit by the state comptroller’s workplace, which brings in an outdoor accounting agency to look at the funds.
State marketing campaign finance disclosure studies present Henyard’s marketing campaign committee has not acquired a single contribution in latest months.
Friends of Tiffany Henyard reported no contributions or expenditures for the just lately concluded July-September quarter and have proven no marketing campaign earnings since earlier than the ultimate three months of 2023, based on studies filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Henyard made a $20,000 private mortgage to the marketing campaign on March 6, and the marketing campaign had just below $64,000 to spend on the finish of September, based on filings.
In Thornton Township, Nate Fields, 33, who beforehand labored for the township beneath Zuccarelli and stated his place was dissolved beneath Henyard, confirmed he’ll run as an unbiased candidate for the April election moderately than the primaries.
Fields, of South Holland, stated he’s operating to enhance transparency and contain the neighborhood extra in municipal decision-making. He stated he hopes to launch an app that may permit residents to entry essential details about the municipality in a single central location.
“I hope that the neighborhood that’s outraged by how Tiffany is behaving will arise now and say, ‘OK, decide him now,’ as a result of I would like to face up and make a distinction now,” Fields stated.
