Police with Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office recently seized two sets of municipal police license plates from vehicles purchased with taxpayer funds this year by Thornton Township government.
The township lacked authority to display plates designated for municipal police vehicles and the matter was referred to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, according to a spokesperson for White.
“Thornton Township does not have a police department,” spokesperson Beth Kaufman said. “The township may display municipal plates, however, it is not entitled to municipal police plates.”
The office acted on a complaint about improper use of police license plates, she said.
“On Aug. 25, the Secretary of State Police revoked and seized both sets of municipal police license plates,” she said.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office said prosecutors were reviewing the matter.
“We can confirm that we received a referral from the Illinois Secretary of State and are reviewing the information to determine if any next legal steps are appropriate,” the state’s attorney’s office said.
Township residents documented the Aug. 25 raid on social media pages. Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard also is mayor of Dolton, and Dolton village administrator Keith Freeman also works for the township as a senior adviser to Henyard.
“Upon being informed by the Secretary of State’s office that the township’s municipal police license plates were not in compliance with state law and issued in error by the Secretary of State, the township immediately acted to rectify the matter and change the plates,” Freeman said.
The township spent $121,885 in public funds in March to buy the two vehicles and equip them with emergency lights, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The purchases were made less than three weeks after Henyard took the oath of office as supervisor to serve out the term of Frank Zuccarelli, who died in January.
The township paid $59,690 to Chastang Enterprises in Houston, Texas, March 23 for a 2021 Ford Expedition SUV, records showed.
On the same day, the township paid $46,045 to Lake Country Chevrolet in Jasper, Texas for a 2022 Chevy Tahoe C150.
On March 25, the township paid Midwest 911, a Bolingbrook business, to install front, side and rear warning systems on the two vehicles. The lights, sirens and speakers cost $8,170 for the Ford Expedition and $7,980 for the Chevy Tahoe.
The Township Board approved the vehicle purchases, Freeman said.
“Purchase of township vehicles is conducted through a vehicle consortium that ensures the township receives the lowest possible price for taxpayers,” he said in a statement in response to my inquiry. “That consortium identified a Texas-based vendor as the source of the lowest, most responsible bid, and as such, the township purchased the vehicles according to that guidance.”
For the past six months, I have observed the two black SUVs outside public meetings in Dolton and Thornton Township. On Tuesday, I recognized the vehicles as part of a motorcade of four black SUVs traveling south on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
I was on my way back to the south suburbs after covering an appellate court hearing at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in downtown Chicago about whether a June 28 vote to recall Henyard as mayor was legal.
I was in the left lane on the Dan Ryan, stopped in heavy traffic at about 2:30 p.m. just north of Guaranteed Rate Field, where the White Sox play. Suddenly the convoy of four vehicles passed inches to the left of my vehicle.
The left shoulder at that point was not quite the width of a full lane of traffic. I watched as the convoy stopped momentarily, then squeezed by as vehicles in the left lane of traffic moved over enough to allow the motorcade to pass.
The four vehicles in the convoy all had emergency lights flashing. I recalled seeing red, blue and yellow lights, like police vehicles. I heard sirens. Two of the vehicles had civilian plates and two had municipal police plates.
“On Tuesday, Sept. 13, as with all other times, the township’s vehicles complied with local police directives and complied with appropriate traffic laws and regulations,” Freeman said.
I observed Dolton police Chief Robert Collins and numerous other village of Dolton employees in the courtroom. It was unclear why government employees whose salaries are paid by taxpayers attended a court hearing on a political matter.
Numerous Dolton residents and elected trustees also attended the hearing. I met with them in a Dolton Park District parking lot before a chartered bus transported them to Chicago.
I chatted with some residents in the courtroom before the hearing got underway.
“She has lost the support of the people,” resident Beth McBride told me.
I asked resident Karen Johnson whether citizens felt intimidated by the presence of security personnel. Residents called Henyard’s entourage “homeland security.” Johnson said she did not feel intimidated by the men.
“This is our town and we’re the ones suffering,” she said.
A shooting Wednesday involving a bodyguard for Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark raised fresh concerns about security details paid by taxpayers to protect south suburban elected officials.
Residents of Harvey, Dolton and other communities have previously questioned why taxpayers foot the bills for security details. In some instances, on-duty police officers in uniform are assigned to guard a mayor or other official. Clark’s case and others involve the use of private security guards.
A security officer working for Clark on Wednesday shot at a person who was armed with a firearm and wearing a ski mask in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, Harvey authorities said.
The costs for security personnel, vehicles and equipment can be substantial. Public officials in most communities would never imagine saddling taxpayers with the costs of private security details. But in some south suburbs with high rates of violent crime the practice seems to have become established as a perk for mayors or other officials.
Henyard has said she received death threats during her 2021 campaign against former Dolton Mayor Riley Rogers. Henyard is a single mother of a young child.
Ted Slowik is a columnist at the Daily Southtown.
