Punches were thrown and expletives flew as a brawl erupted during a Thornton Township, Illinois Board meeting on Jan. 29.
Leaders of the south suburban Chicago township were forced to clear the hall and stop working, again, as chaos erupted.
The township board meeting was the first in months. Embattled Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard made a rare appearance, and ended up getting in the fray herself.
The brawl started after the public comments portion of the meeting. The last to offer public comments was Jedidiah Brown, who made a lengthy harangue directed at Henyard that ended with his calling Henyard a “b****.”
Before Brown could get back to his seat, Henyard’s allies — including her boyfriend, Kamal Woods — confronted Brown. At that point, punches went flying.
Several men joined the tussle, where people threw punches and started kicking. Security then tried separating the men.
Meanwhile, witnesses said Henyard — who was seated at a table at the front of the room with the board of trustees — ran toward the tussle. It was unclear whether Henyard was trying to break up the fight or to get involved herself, but she did lose a shoe and was thrown to the floor.
The next day, Brown said he filed an order of protection against Henyard and Woods.
Speaking on Henyard’s behalf, one of her allies blamed the fight on lies and false accusations. The ally did not give specifics, but said the false information is putting the supervisor at risk.
Woods, Henyard’s boyfriend, was also at the center of the Thornton Township Board of Trustees’ agenda Tuesday night. The newest trustee, Stephanie Wiedeman, made a motion to put Woods and another employee, William Moore, on administrative leave.
Woods was hired by Henyard to run the township youth program — and many on the board and in the community have questioned the work that Woods and Moore, also a Henyard ally, ever did in Thornton Township.
The board placed Woods and Moore on paid leave immediately, as investigations into their positions began.
Henyard tried keeping the trustees from making the vote on Woods and Moore, and argued that placing Woods on leave is nothing more than personal.
