Residents from several south suburban communities stood united on Saturday as they pushed for accountability and transparency into how their tax dollars are being spent.
“We want people to know what is going on so we can try to stop it,” said Mary Avant, a retired police officer who lives in Dolton. Embattled Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard also serves as supervisor of the township, which has a population of around 158,000 people and covers 17 communities.
Dolton's government has been marred by accusations of misspending, lawsuits and probes. The township was also named in a lawsuit filed by Henyard’s former assistant and a Dolton police officer, who both allege abuse and retaliation.
"She put us in the, in this situation, the only way we are going to get out of it is we dig ourselves out," stated Avant. "People have to stand up and stop just complaining to one another."
Avant and other residents, including Harvey's Ryan Sinwelski, teamed up for Saturday's "Take Back Our Township" rally.
"We are hoping to get positive momentum and connect with other people,” he said. “So many of us at the township and municipal levels are going through lack of transparency. We don’t know how our tax money is being spent.”
Christopher Gonzalez, a Thornton Township Trustee, was also in attendance.
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"I have a lot of the same questions people do, but even beyond that, we are all citizens just trying to get some answers,” Gonzalez said.
NBC Chicago reached out to Thornton Township for a statement on the rally, but hadn't heard back as of Saturday evening.
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