2 Thornton Township trustees to skip board meeting amid dispute with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (CBS) — Two Thornton Township trustees plan to skip Tuesday night's board meeting amid ongoing issues with embattled Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard.
While the scheduled biweekly meeting was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the absence of the two trustees will mean there will not be a quorum present to move forward with any official business.
Thornton Township Trustees Christopher Gonzalez and Carmen Carlisle are going to great lengths to stall movement on Henyard's plans for the township.
In a statement, they said they wouldn't show up to Tuesday night's board meeting because Henyard wouldn't answer questions about spending. They claimed the meeting's agenda hadn't been properly vetted, pointing to two key issues.
Firstly, they said the township's bills have not been openly reviewed so residents can know where money is being sent. Secondly, they said the board has yet to finalize a new bank account to ensure the township is financially stable.
The agenda for Tuesday night's board meeting includes authorizing the township to open a new checking account, and empowering Henyard and Thornton Township Finance Director Robert Hunt to sign off on spending.
Yet Gonzalez and Carlisle said the board has not talked about finances for a new bank account before giving Henyard access to the funds.
Gonzalez and Carlisle said they hope not showing up for the meeting could help force a public vote to fill a vacancy on the board.
This vacancy came when Jerry Jones resigned suddenly in October. Henyard is looking to appoint someone to the seat.
"Let's do the business of the people. That's what we want to do, but then we get this agenda with so many different items that aren't what we would say necessary in order to just basically get the business done," Gonzalez said.
Last month, Henyard was the only one to show up for a board meeting, after Carlisle and Gonzalez said they had safety concerns and that meetings had gotten out of control.
"As trustees, I feel it's our duty to ensure professionalism and transparency at these meetings, and it's just been chaos," Carlisle said. "It makes it impossible for us to effectively serve the residents, and that's all we're trying to do. We don't want to be a part of a show."
This would mark the third meeting where there were not enough trustees present to conduct official business. Usually under such circumstances, Henyard speaks freely about various items she chooses to discuss.
This vacancy came when Jerry Jones resigned suddenly in October. Henyard is looking to appoint someone to the seat.
Meantime, five months ahead of the April election, neither Henyard nor any incumbent trustees have announced intentions to run for re-election.
The Reform Thornton Township Party has filed a slate of candidates, with Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark running for supervisor.
Carlisle and Gonzalez said that's another reason it's irresponsible to create major changes in the township, when there's the possibility of an entirely new administration coming into office.
