After heated arguments between Thornton Township trustees and Supervisor Tiffany Henyard over accountability, officers accredited audits of all township departments, together with a former official’s bank card, throughout a board assembly Tuesday evening.
As trustees Carmen Carlisle and Chris Gonzalez referred to as Henyard to account for ongoing unauthorized spending and a normal lack of transparency concerning the township’s operations, Henyard countered by questioning Carlisle’s spending when the trustee labored as his assistant. He proposed conducting a “forensic audit/investigation” of former Thornton Township Administrator Keith Freeman’s bank card “and Carmen Carlisle’s use of mentioned card.”
“Let’s speak about your involvement with Keith Freeman,” Henyard instructed Carlisle throughout the assembly. “Let’s open the door so everybody is aware of what is going on on right here in Thornton Township. We’ll inform the reality.
Carlisle mentioned he would welcome any investigation into his spending as Henyard’s assistant, which he mentioned was being directed by the supervisor himself.
“I’ve no drawback sitting down and speaking to an investigator about any of the purchases that I’ve made on behalf of Thornton Township or Supervisor Henyard: the quite a few journeys that I’ve booked for her, the costly lodge suites, the primary class flights, the costly dinners, you realize, the totally different providers that she has obtained which were supplied to her on behalf of the residents of Thornton Township,” Carlisle mentioned.
Despite the absence of two trustees from Tuesday’s assembly, the board accredited the investigation, although members didn’t talk about who will monitor the bank card or how a lot it should price.
The board accredited one other audit of all Thornton Township departments three years in the past, however Henyard opposed different accountability measures proposed by trustees, together with altering elected officers’ salaries, creating an accountability division and instituting a whistleblower safety coverage.
Carlisle additionally mentioned he would assist hiring Lori Lightfoot to research Thornton Township spending, following the previous Chicago mayor’s reporting on Henyard’s administration as mayor of Dolton.
