New details emerge about fourth of July tension between township officials and school board president

A back-and-forth rife with conflicting information has ensued over allegations of telephone call recordings following tension over Thornton Township’s soured fourth of July event.

Last month at the Thornton Township High Schools District 205 regular board meeting, Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard accused D205 President Nina Graham of recording a private phone conversation as Henyard attempted to gain clarity behind abrupt changes to the township’s annual event.

Since 2021, the township’s Independence Day festivities have been held at Thornridge High School in Dolton, where Henyard is also the mayor. But the Cook County Sheriff’s Office had to “govern the grass,” Henyard said, forcing that event to relocate to the street. 

Thornridge’s campus is closed while undergoing capital improvements, including construction on the roof.

During public comment, Henyard accused Graham of recording their telephone conversations, threatening to sue.

But Nakita Cloud, a public relations specialist and Henyard’s former chief of staff in Dolton who reached out to Henyard and Price on Graham’s behalf, is accusing Henyard of recording Graham.

Cloud encountered Graham on July 4 at a local parade, where Graham was “visibly distraught,” Cloud wrote in a statement she emailed to the HWH in response to recent reporting. 

“When I asked her what was wrong, she mentioned she had received a disturbing text message from Keith Price regarding her recording a call between herself and Tiffany,” Cloud said. “It was clear she had nothing to do with this call, as you could barely hear her, but Tiffany’s voice was clear as day. This suggests that the call was recorded either by Henyard herself or someone in her proximity.”

Cloud said she then texted Price, admitting her tone “was defensive,” telling him not to contact Graham again as she perceived his message as a threat. “At over 80 years old, Ms. Graham cannot defend herself against such intimidation,” she said. 

Cloud said that her former boss has a history of “disruptive behavior” and dubbed Henyard the “common denominator” in a text message Cloud sent to Price, according to Cloud.

In her email, Cloud did not provide the HWH with a screenshot of any text messages sent to Price. She did provide a screenshot of the text message she sent to Price. 

Cloud redacted his phone number “out of respect to Mr. Price,” she said. According to Cloud, she’s never had any prior interactions or “bad experience” with Price, adding her “personal assumption is that he texted Graham on behalf of Henyard.”

Henyard did not respond to emailed requests for comment by press time.

“We called her a couple of times before and she says she will call us back; she’ll check with the board,” Price told the HWH. 

Price confirmed that he, Henyard, and Graham participated in a three-way phone call about a week before the event, as the township worked through preparation. 

However, Price contends he was generally unaware of any telephone recordings until one was posted on Facebook, but couldn’t recall where.

Initially, the township was told that fireworks would be prohibited and that they couldn’t be on the grass, he said, though Price noted those conditions weren’t an issue in previous years. 

Price, who also offered public comment on the matter at last month’s board meeting, was also told that construction materials present prevented the viability of using the grass. There was no equipment on the Thornridge property at that time, he said. 

“The school is on 147th,” Price explained. “We were actually going to use the open grass closer to 150th.” Then, the sheriff’s office prevented the township’s event from accessing the campus’ grass. Price believed this directive “was strictly politically motivated.”

At the board meeting, Henyard complained that the district no longer allows her into schools to speak with students and “reach the young people.” She criticized district officials as having poor youth engagement.

That evening, D205 President Graham declined a request for comment.

All summer, both Thornwood High School in South Holland and Thornridge have been closed because of construction. 

The district held its regular June, July, and August meetings at Thornton, as a result, instead of rotating throughout the campuses.