Tiffany Henyard, the scandal-plagued mayor of Dolton, Illinois, has reportedly been present in contempt of courtroom after allegedly stonewalling liquor licenses for months.
The homeowners of St. Patrick’s, a three-story restaurant and banquet corridor on Lincoln Avenue, sued in August, claiming the mayor had repeatedly promised to signal the liquor licenses, which had been already permitted by the village board of trustees, however didn’t.
In courtroom on Wednesday, Henyard, who additionally serves because the village liquor commissioner, reportedly vowed once more that she’d signal the licenses, however she didn’t earlier than a 5 p.m. Thursday deadline.
The events had been due to this fact pressured to return to courtroom once more Friday, and Henyard arrived a half hour late for the listening to, WGN-TV reported.
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Prepare dinner County Choose Cecilia Horan held Henyard in oblique prison contempt. Meaning the mayor was thought of “disrespectful to the authority of the courtroom,” Adrian Vuckovich, an legal professional for the homeowners of St. Patrick’s, advised WMAQ-TV.
“It’s been a problem to place it mildly. It shouldn’t be so tough. That is an odd occasion to get liquor licenses issued,” Vuckovich told WGN individually.
“The decide requested the mayor, ‘Will you signal these licenses?’ and as a substitute of signing them or answering the decide immediately, she started speaking in circles and in order that’s when the decide made one willpower of what’s known as oblique prison contempt,” Vuckovich reportedly stated, including: “It’s severe. It’s not one thing anyone would need to occur, particularly should you’re a public official.”
Henyard was not taken into custody, however, below risk of being held in contempt once more, she signed two of the three liquor licenses, which means St. Patrick’s can lastly open for enterprise.
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“This could have been over in November,” Tiffany Kamara, one among St. Patrick’s homeowners, advised WMAQ.
Vuckovich stated his shopper is pursuing the third license, in addition to extra penalties for the mayor over the hold-up. “We wish her to be fined. We wish her to pay legal professional charges, and we would like damages. She has damage my shopper,” the legal professional reportedly stated. “We’re losing cash every single day… taxpayers’ cash. This can be a good constructing that individuals might be utilizing and to not point out the roles.”
Henyard’s legal professional, Max Solomon, reportedly tried to justify the delay.
“It is extremely essential for individuals to grasp that the paperwork signed at the moment had one other entity on there. That was the holdup,” Solomon advised WMAQ. “That was the one factor.”
Fox Information Digital reached out to Henyard and Solomon for remark however didn’t instantly hear again.
In the meantime, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who had been employed to analyze Henyard final summer season, has concluded her probe and is anticipated to launch her findings Monday evening, FOX 32 Chicago reported.
Henyard is going through allegations together with that she misused taxpayer {dollars}, overspent on village bank cards and fired an worker who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a village trustee whereas on a piece journey to Las Vegas.
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The FBI is also reportedly investigating Henyard for alleged corruption in Dolton and Thornton Township, the place she at the moment serves as supervisor however misplaced the Democratic nomination to carry onto that position final month.
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