In the old days (before Jan. 28), when politicians said they would fight for the people, we understood them to mean they would aggressively support good policies and protect constituents from bad policies. We took it for granted they would fight with words and votes. Most politicians I know don’t have great boxing chops.
After Tuesday’s Thornton Township board meeting (Jan. 28), we may need to revise our interpretation of the fighting politician persona.
A feeling of hope was evident among the Thornton Township residents who attended the special town meeting on Jan. 21. After a more-than-three-month stalemate between members of a board evenly split, residents enthusiastically voted to appoint former township employee Stephanie Wiedeman to a trustee seat vacated early in October by the resignation of Gerald “Jerry” Jones.
Filling the position would have broken the stalemate in any case, but residents chose to appoint someone unlikely to side with Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, whose tenure has been saturated in controversy and drama.
I was at the Homewood board meeting Tuesday night, so I missed seeing the township shenanigans in person, but I watched the Lansing Journal video, which I recommend because it shows the whole meeting and not just the concluding brawl. There are quite a few other videos out there, from YouTubers (bad language not bleeped) and Chicago TV stations (bad language bleeped), so you can see things from different angles.
The prospect of progress in moving stalled township business seemed positive for much of the first board meeting with Wiedeman seated, as trustees approved the property tax levy, bought insurance policies, approved investigations and paid bills. See Carole Sharwarko’s story in the Journal to get a complete report on what action was taken.
There was still quite a bit of tension in the air as the majority voted against several measures Henyard has advocated for, including a property tax refund and bonuses for township staff. Henyard followed each failed measure with comments that often disparaged her opponents, Trustees Chris Gonzalez, Carmen Carlisle and Wiedeman. At the end of the meeting, Gonzalez apologized to residents for the “play-by-play” from Henyard.
Henyard also objected to the board’s approval of putting two of her allies, William Moore and her boyfriend, Kamal Woods, on paid administrative leave from their township positions pending an investigation into their work. She threatened to sue.
Then the meeting went off the rails, as they say. Going off the rails, of course, is the immediate precursor to a train wreck.
During public comment, the Journal’s video shows Henyard critic Jedediah Brown call the supervisor a vulgar name at the end of his comments. As he left the podium, it appeared someone at the back of the room said something to him. I couldn’t hear the comment, but Brown turned quickly and approached someone off-camera, and fisticuffs ensued. Henyard could be seen diving into the battle.
There was much discussion for the next few days on social media about who was at fault, who hit whom and who was the victor.
I’m not going to go weigh in on that last question, but it’s pretty clear who lost: all the residents of Thornton Township. Their township government has been increasingly dysfunctional. Now it’s broken. A meeting that started on a promising note ended in violence.
When we think of the qualifications to serve in public office, we don’t often inquire whether candidates have good street fighting credentials. I guess maybe we should from now on. How’s your right hook? Can you effectively land an elbow in someone’s face? What’s your technique for getting the boot in?
ABC7 reported the next day that Henyard said she was trying to break up the fight. From the videos I watched, it looked more like she was a bowling ball trying to break up the pins. Brown said she hit him with a microphone, which is an unusual technique for calming things down.
Even if she decided on the spur of the moment to appoint herself to the security staff, Henyard crossed a line when she entered the fray.
She is on the ropes, politically. She was excluded from the ballot in the race for supervisor in the April 1 election. Napoleon Harris’s slate of candidates for the board was chosen by voters in a caucus Dec. 3 that seemed designed to keep her from representing the party. She sued to challenge the caucus process and results. She lost.
Township residents might not have Henyard to kick around (metaphorically!) much longer. But it probably would be a mistake to count her out completely. We certainly can count on her to fight.
The good news is that the new majority on the board is starting the process of getting the township back on track, taking care of the business of governing and continuing to seek answers about the administration’s financial practices.
The task will take time and will continue after the April 1 election, so I urge voters who haven’t been following the township saga (there might still be a few out there) to get familiar with the issues. The Journal is a good place to start and Chicago media have covered the township thoroughly. Learn about the candidates (there are four for the supervisor post) and, most importantly, vote.
Vote for chaos or vote for order, but vote. The future of Thornton Township is in your hands, folks.