Thornton Township trustees pass ordinance to authorize recurrent bills before board approval 

Thornton Township trustees approved a new bills pay ordinance during the Oct. 14 meeting.

The ordinance authorizes monthly payments for certain township services, subscriptions, and utilities without initial approval from the board. Supervisor Napoleon Harris, who attended the meeting virtually and off camera, explained that the ordinance will allow pre-approved services to be paid automatically before a bills list is approved and prevent potential late fees. 

“Some of our bills are due prior to our monthly board meetings where the bills list are approved, which causes some of our bills to result in late fees…the threat of disconnections, and sometimes maybe even disconnection,” Harris said. However, he did not specify which bills fall under this category.

Meanwhile, the board is in the process of “digitizing the township” by making all ordinances available online, Harris announced during his supervisor report. This move will allow residents to view ordinances without having to visit the township in person.

“We’re trying to do our very best to work with our IT department to make sure that we upload our ordinances to the website so that it makes it easier for transparency and making sure that everyone has access…so they can see what’s going on in real time,” Harris said. 

New business

The board adopted its 2026 holidays and meetings calendar, including a modified meeting schedule. Starting next year, the board will hold only one meeting per month instead of two, and meeting days will shift from Tuesdays to Mondays.

“For the 2026 calendar year, we’ll be moving our monthly meetings to the third Monday of each month,” Harris said.

The board approved a $140,000 settlement in the Larry Lawrence v. Thornton Township case. Lawrence, a longtime township employee who was terminated during the previous administration, alleged he was fired for political retaliation. 

Township attorney Steven Laduzinsky shared that there were no insurance dollars to cover the settlement nor the cost of the defense.“As a result, based on the economics of it, a recommendation was made to settle the case for $140,000.” 

Public comment

Five months into Napoleon Harris’ term as supervisor, residents are still asking for transparency. 

“It seems as if the only way that we as citizens of Thornton Township may address [the administration] is through public comments,” said Beth McBride, a Dolton resident. McBride said residents like her have questions about the budget process, calendar of events, and why last month’s township meeting was cancelled with no prior notice.“ [Residents] have had a lot of difficulty receiving answers.” 

Lansing resident Paul Robertz, who also spoke during the meeting’s public comment portion, has tried to reach the trustees and staff by email and phone and has even gone up to the front desk during business hours to ask the administration questions, but to no avail. 

Robertz and McBride were outspoken critics of former supervisor Tiffany Henyard during her term, but Robertz gave her credit for connecting residents with department heads to discuss questions.

“[Henyard] regularly scheduled something called Township Talks in this room where she had every department head say a little bit about what they did…and the public was able to ask questions from the floor,” Robertz said to the HWH.

During Robertz’ public comment, he requested that the board add a referendum question to the spring 2026 primary election ballot.  ”If Thornton Township had established a recall mechanism a few years ago, voters could have recalled Supervisor Henyard, saved millions of dollars, avoided some lawsuits, and prevented much of the bad national publicity.”

Robertz told trustees that if they approved a referendum, “you would have nothing to worry about since you believe that you’re performing your duties in an acceptable manner.” 

The HWH reached out to Harris for a comment, but he did not respond by the time of publication.