Thornton Township trustees say they want to see more details about where township money is going and want to rein in spending on things such as travel and credit card use.
At a special meeting Thursday, they set guidelines on township-paid travel and repealed a township salary ordinance.
Action to set a limit on spending for township events was put off for further review, as was setting rules for use of credit cards issued by the township.
It might sound familiar to residents of Dolton, a community that’s part of the township and where trustees say they are also kept in the dark about the true state of village finances
Tiffany Henyard is supervisor in Thornton Township, the state’s second-largest township, by population, and is Dolton’s mayor.
She is under federal investigation, and two top allies are facing federal bankruptcy fraud charges.
Henyard, at Thursday’s township meeting, said she tries to make herself available to trustees if they have questions about how money is spent.
“My line is open to any board member sitting here,” she said.
“I ask for a lot of information, and the administration doesn’t cooperate,” Trustee Carmen Carlisle said.
Carlisle said she has been contacted by vendors who’ve done work for the township and submitted bills, but that in some instances the supervisor doesn’t include them on the list of bills for the board to review and approve.
Some residents said the bickering among the township board was only hurting residents they’re supposed to protect.
“You kids need to put your toys away,” she told board members. “You don’t have to like each other, that’s politics, but you need to be able to come together.”
Another woman who said she has lived in the township 48 years said she’s “never seen such carrying on in my life.”
“Something needs to give, it needs to stop,” she said. “I’m just tired of it, please.”
Deborah Smith said actions by board members, such as blocking payment of bills, seem to be aimed at Henyard.
“It seems like you all are mad at her,” Smith said. “By not paying bills it’s not hurting Tiffany, it’s hurting township residents.”
Trustees said they want to see invoices backing up bills they’re asked to approve, and be able to “make more-informed choices,” Carlisle said.
At a township meeting last month, trustees blocked payment for businesses or people who provided services or did work for the township, saying Henyard’s office is still not providing them with important spending details.
Carlisle and Trustee Chris Gonzalez claimed they requested and failed to receive invoices and statements to understand the bills.
The two trustees also expressed frustration that Henyard prevented a vote on ordinances they wrote to increase accountability and prevent unapproved spending by the supervisor’s office.
Henyard questioned Thursday the urgency of holding a special board meeting when the next regular meeting is set for Tuesday.
The supervisor also accused trustees of “picking and choosing who you want to pay.”
Robert Hunt is township finance director, and trustees said they were looking to him to give more information about bills, but Henyard insisted they need to direct questions to Keith Price.
Price, previously identified as operating the township’s food pantry, appears to have been tabbed by Henyard to replace Keith Freeman, previously her top aide at the township who was fired last month.
“If you guys have questions, please talk to Keith Price,” Henyard said.
Vincent D. Johnson/for the Daily Southtown
Keith Price, aide to Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, answers some questions Aug. 15, 2024, during a board meeting in South Holland. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Daily Southtown)
Gonzalez asked what Price’s job title is and whether he was approved by the board, which set off an exchange with Henyard, who wouldn’t really say what his job was.
She told Gonzalez that he “knows what his title is, he’s doing the exact same thing Keith Freeman was doing.”
Carlisle asked whether bills could be identified by department, or whether credit cards are used.
“We’re trying to do things to make this an easier process, a more understood process,” Carlisle said.
“Everything that they ask for, it’s for their departments, for the residents,” Henyard said.
Carlisle said that when she first came on the board as a trustee, “I trusted the administration, I trusted the process,” but that “moving forward, it’s not working.