WHD SD147 school board appoints man ineligible to hold local office due to felony convictions
Kenneth Henderson has two felony convictions, including one for aggravated use of a weapon.
The West Harvey-Dixmoor School District 147 filled a board vacancy recently, appointing a man whose criminal record prevents him from holding office.
Kenneth Henderson was appointed to fill a vacancy left by former member Ronnie Lee, who announced his resignation to pursue a new pastoral endeavor in Mississippi.
Henderson will serve the remainder of Lee’s term, until April 2025, when his seat was regularly scheduled for election.
According to member Bonnie Rateree’s comments before Henderson’s appointment, the district received four letters of interest and did not conduct interviews. “In all fairness, we should interview the people who have put in letters.”
State law prevents anyone with a felony conviction from holding local office. That does not apply to county or state positions. Henderson has two felony convictions, one for controlled substance in 2009 and another for aggravated use of a weapon in 2015.
The law does not prevent someone with felony convictions from appearing on a ballot.
In 2017, Henderson was elected to the Harvey Park District board as a commissioner. However, an injunction was issued on his seat, forcing him to vacate. He previously served on the WHD 147 board between 2019 and 2023. That occupation went unchallenged.
“In April, the people can decide what you want to do. But I want to give him an opportunity to complete some of that work that we started,” member Pamela Cudjo-Kelly said in favor of Henderson’s appointment.
Cudjo-Kelly, secretary Mabel Chapman, member Hazel Bowman, and president Micheal Smith all voted ‘yes.’ Rateree abstained. Terry Young was absent.
Issues with the Thornton school treasurer’s office
Finance director Cynthia Edwards-Jackson explained the district’s 2023 to 2024 fiscal summary, breaking down what WHD 147 expected versus its actualized figures.
“With it still being early in the fiscal year, as of the end of September, $6.2 million of our expected revenues have been realized. The treasurer’s office may have received more, but it takes at least a month for it to show up in our account,” Edwards-Jackson. “So far this fiscal year, we have expended $9.9 million, which includes some obligations carried over from last year.”
Interim co-superintendent Creg Williams was recently named the district’s treasurer representative on the Thornton Township Trustees of Schools. That body oversees payroll, accounts payables, and investments for select south suburban districts.
There are a total of 12 members, according to Williams, nine of which were newly appointed to represent serviced schools. Thornton Township High Schools District 205 Superintendent Nathaniel Cunningham, Jr. was named the treasurer’s board president at the meeting earlier that day.
“We will take up matters, obviously, that involve some of the confusion that we’ve kind of encountered over the two to three years with the treasurer’s office,” but those can be resolved through increased board representation and effort. Accounting issues at the Trustees of Schools were behind auditing snafus at Harvey School District 152. The board meets quarterly, according to its website, however, Williams surmised it would meet more often.
Official business and reports
The board accepted a $1 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity but were scant on specific details regarding its intended use.
The district approved both the September payable in the amount of $3,283,096.58. Payroll for the same month was approved in the amount of $861,483.39.
Michelle Johnson was announced as the Interim Administrator—Dean of Students who will be joining Rosa L. Parks Middle School. The board entertained the idea of a possible family engagement center. A similar effort at Prairie–Hill School District 144 in Markham recently celebrated its ribbon cutting.
Public comment
Rosa L. Parks special education teacher Llona Lewis submitted a resignation, which she decided to rescind. However, her resignation was still on the agenda that evening.
She claimed she was told that her resignation would be a breach of contract. “At this point, I’m not sure what’s next,” Lewis said. “But I’m here because I wanted you to know why I decided to put a letter of resignation in.”
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