Former south suburban Chicago township employee sues, says he was wrongfully fired by Supervisor Henyard
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another lawsuit has been filed against embattled Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard.
Dwayne Thrash, a 20-year Thorntown Township employee, claims in the lawsuit that he was wrongfully fired after refusing to comply with an alleged scheme by Henyard's team.
The lawsuit said Henyard and her special assistant, Keith Freeman, pressured Thrash to fire the attorney for the Thornton Township Trustees of Schools, and replace her with another law firm—Del Galdo Law Grouip LLC.
Thrash alleged he was offered a $10,000 pay increase weeks prior if he enabled this change of attorneys. When he declined to comply, he was fired less than a month later, according to a news release on the lawsuit.
Thrash's lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for lost wages and emotional distress, and injunctive relief to prevent further unlawful employment practices in Thornton Township.
Henyard's administration is also the subject of several other lawsuits and investigations. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in April agreed to investigate Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard amid claims that Henyard misused public funds—and the Dolton Village Board overrode a veto by Henyard f that investigation.
The FBI also served two subpoenas to the village earlier this year—in a probe many believe centers around Henyard and her lack of transparency.
Other scandals have also plagued the south suburban village lately. Fenia Dukes, a former village worker, filed a civil lawsuit claiming Dolton Village Trustee Andrew Holmes sexually assaulted her while attending a conference for the village in Las Vegas in May of last year.
Dukes' lawsuit alleged that at a subsequent meeting, Henyard said she herself would be ruined if the information if the incident got out. She concluded the meeting by telling the alleged victim she'd take care of it. That meeting allegedly resulted in the village employee being terminated, along with the officer being demoted and removed from the mayor's security detail.
Holmes has not responded to requests for comment on the allegations.