Five months after the April election, neither Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard nor any sitting township trustees have announced plans to run for their positions again.
Candidates running outside of a major party had to file petitions by 5 p.m. Monday, and five people threw their hats in the ring for supervisor positions and six for four trustee positions. No one filed for township clerk or assessor and one person filed for highway commissioner.
The Reform Thornton Township Party filed a slate of candidates with Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark running for supervisor and Corean Davis, Rachel Jones, Dominique Randle-El and Jacinta Gholston for trustee. Davis is Harvey’s city administrator and Randle-El is Harvey’s 5th Ward alderman.
The independent candidates for supervisor are Nate Fields, Jr., Stafford Owens and Sidney Moore.
Owens is a member of the Thornton Township District 205 Board of Trustees. Moore, of Homewood, ran unsuccessfully for Illinois secretary of state in 2022 and said Monday he has experience in several political campaigns.
Moore said he hoped to bring transparency and positivity back to the township of about 150,000 residents after Henyard’s high-profile and chaotic administration.
“She brings in the worst people,” Moore said of the current supervisor. “People are ashamed to live in this township now. »
Fields, 33, of South Holland, said last month that he worked for the township under former Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli until his position was dissolved under Henyard. He also said he wants to improve transparency and involve the community more in the township’s decision-making.
“I hope the community outraged by the way Tiffany is acting will stand up now and say, ‘OK, pick him now,’ because I have to stand up and make a difference now,” Fields said.
Harvey
Mike Nolan/Southtown Daily Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark during a city council meeting in June 2023. (Mike Nolan/Southtown Daily)
Although Henyard and the incumbent trustees have not filed, major party candidates in municipal elections can be determined by the caucus, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
That means Thornton Township voters may not know if their supervisor will be on their April ballot until Dec. 3, a stark difference from Dolton, where Henyard began campaigning last month for the re-election as mayor and ran in the Democratic primary against Village Trustee Jason House.
Township trustees Chris Gonzalez, Carmen Carlisle and Darlene Gray Everett also have not disclosed their plans. Last month, Gerald Jones resigned as a director and a vote on his interim replacement is on the agenda for a board meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Since this spring, federal investigators have issued subpoenas seeking records on Henyard, people affiliated with him and organizations under his control at the Dolton Village Hall and Thornton Town Hall in South Holland, as well as as in Thornton Township School District 205.
The Illinois Board of Elections website states that most townships in Illinois use the caucus method to nominate established party candidates for township positions.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
