Concerns over spending transparency by Supervisor Tiffany Henyard led the Thornton Township Board Thursday to deny payments to certain vendors who completed work for the township.
Among the payments debated during the special board meeting, called after a last-minute cancellation of Tuesday’s scheduled meeting, were for lawn mowing services for seniors and media content creation for township events.
“We don’t want services to stop, not our intention whatsoever, but we have to get a hold on some of this spending,” Trustee Christopher Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has questioned Henyard’s deals with certain vendors, especially those tasked with providing media services such as photography and videography at events, since the Dolton mayor was appointed township supervisor in 2022. However, he said Thursday marked one of the first instances where most other trustees voted with him to forgo payments until more information is provided.
“I think if anybody does work they should get paid, but I just think the process is all messed up,” Trustee Carmen Carlisle said. “The board never knows anything before it’s time to vote … I’m sending questions all the time, and sometimes my questions get answered and sometimes they don’t.”
Trustees sought to remove 26 charges from the bill payment package, including those for services from several communications, entertainment and celebrity agencies. The agenda did not show the individual payment amounts or the total bill, and the township’s spokesperson did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Henyard, as supervisor, decides the terms of contracts with service providers without input from the board. But Gonzalez said the board is tasked with approving payments, which often are brought at the last minute without proper explanation and have not yet been funded as part of next year’s budget.
“You can’t make a good decision based on that,” Gonzalez said. “So we’re asking, let us see the invoice, you know, let’s see a statement and a complete one.”
Henyard asked contractors to explain to the board the services and the potential impact of not being paid. After hearing from lawn care specialists about the importance of their services for senior residents, the board amend its motion to allow that specific payment.
Henyard continued to press the board to approve the full bill list, at one point calling trustees’ complaints of not being provided adequate information ahead of time a “bald-faced lie.”
“It’s unfair for people not to get paid and you guys come to a board meeting and think that’s OK,” Henyard said. “Y’all got no logic, reason for why you’re not paying these bills, but just to create chaos and create this false narrative.”
Gonzalez pushed back against Henyard’s remarks, saying the supervisor needs to commit to providing more advance information to allow trustees to make fair decisions for the taxpayers. He said the board plans to ensure service providers are compensated ahead of the next scheduled meeting on July 16, but said trustees will continue to push back against bills until the process improves.
“We’re doing what we feel we’re supposed to do,” Gonzalez said Friday. “It’s kind of up to her — is this going to be smoother or not? Because all we’re doing is asking questions and things like that, and that’s well within our right and our job.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
