56% vote for recall, but fight not over

Mayor says court battle over 2 questions caused supporters to stay away

Some Dolton trustees said Wednesday the results of a recall referendum aimed at Mayor Tiffany Henyard show voters don’t have confidence in the job she is doing.

Unofficial vote totals in Tuesday’s primary showed that 56% of voters supported the recall measure while 44% were opposed. Turnout in the village was 21.6%, according to the Cook County clerk’s office.

But Henyard issued a statement Wednesday saying two court rulings may have kept her supporters at home rather than drawing them to the polls.

“Many of my supporters did not vote because they were under the impression the votes would not be counted and they did not want to legitimize an illegal recall election,” Henyard said.

Earlier this month, Cook County Judge Paul Karkula directed the Cook County clerk to disregard votes cast on the two mayoral recall referendums, but a state appeals court later directed the clerk to tally the ballots. The appellate court indicated it may take until September to rule whether the recall questions are constitutional.

“I definitely feel it’s a vote of no confidence,” Trustee Jason House said. “All sides need to reflect on it for a day or two and look at the next steps. We all want to try to look at the best thing for Dolton to move forward.”

House and other Dolton trustees have been at odds with Henyard, elected in spring 2021, over issues such as village spending and transparency.

Ballots in Dolton contained two questions about a recall. The first asked whether the village should create a mechanism to recall the mayor before a four-year term has ended, and the second asked whether Henyard should be recalled.

Henyard was elected in April 2021, and her term runs through April 2025. In March of this year, the Thornton Township Board appointed her to fill the late Frank

“It should be a dose of humble pie. The people have spoken that they don’t want you in office.” — Dolton Trustee Edward Steave

Zuccarelli’s position as supervisor.

Henyard filed a lawsuit April 25 naming Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough and all six Dolton Village Board trustees as defendants, challenging the constitutionality of the recall questions the board approved Dec. 8.

The appellate court decision that partially stayed Karkula’s ruling about disregarding the votes “created confusion among voters,” the mayor said.

Henyard said she remains confident the appellate court will rule the recall unconstitutional, but that “because the vote was allowed to happen our community is more divided than ever.”

“As we await a final decision from the appellate court, I will continue to do the work I am doing now to serve the people of Dolton and to bring our community together,” Henyard said.

Trustee Kiana Belcher said the results of the recall referendum questions, although not legally binding for now, “absolutely” delivers a message that residents don’t have confidence in Henyard.

“The residents spoke and that speaks volumes for them to come out,” she said Wednesday. “They want change.”

Trustee Edward Steave said he and other trustees have been frustrated by what they believe is a lack of transparency in village spending, and contends board members are not fully informed about where money is going.

“God willing, once everything plays out in court, we can get ahold of the village finances and find out what’s being spent,” he said Wednesday.

Steave said that Henyard should be humbled by the results of the vote, regardless of the ability to enforce a recall at this point.

“It should be a dose of humble pie,” he said. “The people have spoken that they don’t want you in office.”