Chaos breaks out at Dolton, Illinois village board meeting with mayor under fire
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) -- A village board meeting absolutely erupted in Dolton Monday night, with harsh words between residents and others nearly coming to blows.
One resident coming out of the Dolton Village Hall called what happened a "disgrace." The nearly two-hour meeting was not adjourned – it was cut short when the quarreling nearly turned physical, and forced police to step in and prevent a fight.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in April agreed to investigate Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard amid claims that Henyard misused public funds. After Lightfoot tried to speak from the crowd at the village board meeting Monday night, things quickly started to get chaotic.
Chairs were quickly shoved out of the way. There was already a heavy Dolton police presence for the heated trustee meeting – and officers had to step in to separate the two squabbling sides.
One side supports Henyard, while the other supports the move by trustees to move forward with the independent investigation that Lightfoot is set to lead.
Throughout the night, there was constantly interruption. Dolton police Chief Lewis Lacey warned that the meeting would be shut down if order was not maintained.
Yet the chaos still broke out when Mayor Henyard refused to let Lightfoot speak and tried to adjourn the meeting.
"This is all grandstanding. This is what we're doing now. It's sad that we have to go through this," Henyard said as Lightfoot stood at a microphone that was not turned on.
The crowd in the village hall chanted, "Let her speak"—Lightfoot spoke while Henyard continued to voice objections – and soon, the crowd was furious.
Last month, Henyard vetoed the investigation that Lightfoot is set to lead, saying: "How dare you think you can come into someone's town and investigate? You will not get paid."
Yet when the motion came for the Dolton village trustees to overturn Henyard's veto, the ruckus ensued. When Lightfoot stepped to the podium, her microphone was not on—but she eventually said a few words to Dolton residents.
Lightfoot said she would not "allow anyone to stop us and obstruct our ability to get to the facts."
Mayor Henyard left the room once the fight almost started. But she keeps insisting she has nothing to hide, and calls the investigation a distraction from Dolton business.
"Things got out of hand, and it's largely because people, as we see, are being locked out of the meeting, not allowed to speak – and we follow Roberts Rules of Order, and they still refuse to allow it," said Dolton Village Trustee Jason House. "The residents are frustrated."
Meanwhile, present for the first time in weeks Monday night was Dolton Village Trustee Andrew Holmes. Holmes has been absent ever since allegations and a civil lawsuit claim he sexually assaulted a former Dolton employee on a village-funded trip to Las Vegas.
Holmes did not talk or address the civil suit Monday night.
In the end, the trustees were able to get enough votes to override Henyard's veto of Lightfoot's investigation—and thus, the investigation continues.
This investigation is parallel to an FBI probe at Dolton Village Hall.
In the end, police did not arrest anyone during the ruckus Monday night. They only cleared the room.