After allegedly obstructing liquor licenses for months, Tiffany Henyard, the scandal-plagued mayor of Dolton, Illinois, was held in contempt of court.
In their August lawsuit, the proprietors of Lincoln Avenue’s St. Patrick’s, a three-story eatery and banquet space, said the mayor had consistently failed to sign the liquor licenses, which had already received approval from the village board of trustees.
Henyard, who is also the village liquor commissioner, allegedly reiterated in court on Wednesday that she would sign the licenses, but she failed to do so before the deadline of 5 p.m. on Thursday.
As a result, the parties had to appear in court once more on Friday, and Henyard was thirty minutes late for the hearing.
Henyard was found in indirect criminal contempt by Cook County Judge Cecilia Horan. Accordingly, the mayor was deemed “disrespectful to the authority of the court,” according to Adrian Vuckovich, who represents the St. Patrick’s owners.
“It’s been a challenge to put it mildly. It shouldn’t be so difficult. This is an ordinary event to get liquor licenses issued,” Vuckovich stated.
“The judge asked the mayor, ‘Will you sign these licenses?’ and instead of signing them or answering the judge directly, she began talking in circles and so that’s when the judge made one determination of what’s called indirect criminal contempt,” Vuckovich reportedly stated, adding: “It’s serious. It’s not something anybody would want to happen, especially if you’re a public official.”
Although Henyard was not arrested, she signed two of the three liquor licenses, allowing St. Patrick’s to finally open for business, under danger of being found in contempt once more.
“This should have been over in November,” said Tiffany Kamara, one of the owners of St. Patrick’s.
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According to Vuckovich, his client is seeking the third license in addition to further repercussions for the mayor for the delay. “We desire a fine for her. In addition to damages, we want her to pay legal fees. According to reports, the lawyer stated, “We are wasting money every day… taxpayers’ money. This is a nice building that people could be using and not to mention the jobs.”
“It is very important for people to understand that the documents signed today had another entity on there. That was the holdup,” Solomon told. “That was the only thing.”
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was appointed to look into Henyard this summer, has finished her investigation and is scheduled to make her findings public on Monday night.
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Henyard is accused of misusing public funds, overspending on municipal credit cards, and terminating a worker who reported that a village trustee had sexually abused her while she was on a business trip to Las Vegas.
Henyard, who is presently the supervisor in Dolton and Thornton Township but lost the Democratic race to keep that position last month, is also allegedly under FBI investigation for alleged corruption in the town.
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