Punches were thrown in a midwest board meeting after an activist targeted a politician with harsh words. According to CBS News, during a Thornton Township Board meeting Tuesday night (Jan. 28) in the Chicago suburb, Supervisor Tiffany Henyard made an appearance and ended up being involved in the physical confrontation. Heynard has been the mayor of Dolton, IL. since 2021 and supervisor of Thornton Township since 2022.
The outlet reported that during the public comments portion of the meeting, Jedidiah Brown went last, offering a harsh critique of Henyard, calling her “a b**ch.” As he moved back to his seat, he was allegedly approached by Henyard’s supporters including her boyfriend Kamal Woods, before the heated exchange came to blows, with several men involved in the fight.
Woods was hired by Henyard to run the township youth program. Per CBS News, the newest trustee, Stephanie Wiedeman, made a motion for Woods and another employee, William Moore, to be placed on administrative leave as many on the board and in the community have questioned the work being done by the two men. The board placed Woods and Moore on paid leave immediately and began investigating claims.
BREAKING NEWS—Fight breaks out at Thornton Township meeting. Supervisor Henyard’s boyfriend gets altercation with someone speaking during public comments. The person called the Supervisor a (expletive) moments before. Full report at 10pm @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/qC1l8De2dJ
— Jermont Terry (@JermontTerry) January 29, 2025
Henyard was allegedly involved in the brawl, although CBS News says it was unclear whether she lost a shoe and was slammed while trying to break up the melee or join in.
“I have never seen a politician jump in and fight like that – it was scary and horrible- It is an embarrassment,” detailed a witness Meghan Dudek to NBC 5 Chicago. According to the outlet, Henyard called the moves to remove Woods and Moore political retaliation and has threatened legal action.
“It should have never come to blows, and Tiffany should have never got involved,” added another attendee Gerald Williams.
Thornton Township Trustees released the following statement on Wednesday per CBS News. The outlet reported South Holland police were called into the meeting, and kicked everyone out of the building, with the fight ending the board meeting, which was never formally adjourned.
“We are deeply disturbed by the events that transpired during last night’s board meeting. As public officials, we are entrusted with leading through professionalism, integrity, and respect. What began as a productive discussion on critical community matters descended into chaos and violence, behavior that has no place in Thornton Township and will not be tolerated.”
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the final summary of a financial investigation released Monday by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reveals Henyard has likely misspent hundreds of thousands in taxpayer funds.
The report claimed there to be $779,000 in village credit card charges rung up under Henyard’s tenure, without receipts or an explanation, including more than $171,000 in travel expenses from 2021 through June 2024, $51,000 was spent at area restaurants, and no explanation of why the village went from having a general fund balance of $5.61 million in 2022 to a deficit of $3.6 million in 2024.
“Beginning at least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public,” detailed Lightfood in the findings.
According to the Thornton County website, under Henyard and the board of trustees, Thornton Township was awarded the 2022 Government Finance Organization of the US & Canada Award for financial reporting, management, and transparency.
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