Ald. Shirley Drewenski sworn in as Harvey’s acting mayor while nepotism allegations sour clerk appointment

Ald. Shirley Drewenski (1st) is now acting mayor until April 2027 after she was appointed to the role at a special meeting at Thornton Township High School on Feb. 23.

After taking the oath, Drewenski called for a new era of cooperation. She will lead the city through a fiscal crisis.

“I didn’t wake up and said that I wanted to be mayor, that was not my goal, but sometimes God has different plans, and I’m fulfilling an agreement that we made in 2023 about mayor pro temp as a senior alderman,” Drewinski said. 

The spirit of unity soured during the acting clerk appointment, however.

The clerk application selection, posted Feb. 12, involved a resident-led interview process with representatives from each ward, plus Alds. Tracy Key (4th) and Tyrone Rogers (6th). Each has the most time on the council aside from Drewenski.

Nine candidates were reviewed over two days, resulting in a tie. Though the city utilized a special advisory committee, Drewenski revealed she broke a tie among candidates by recounting applications to favor Janet Rogers — Harvey School District 152 board member and wife to alderman Rogers (6th). She will serve through April 2027.

The acting mayor isn’t obligated to go through a selection committee, but rather the process was recommended by Ald. Colby Chapman (2nd), Drewinski explained. 

“Bottom line, we had to have this position filled and we as a team, collectively, came up with this point, and we took an extra few days, and I think the people who volunteered their time because they did a wonderful job.”

The appointment drew criticism from the public, including Chapman, who subtly suggested her dissatisfaction with Rogers’ selection to acting clerk.

Between 1998 and 2002, then Janet Thomas lied about her income to help her son secure more financial aid for college. She reported $20,000 in income a year but actually made $80,000. At the time, she was a Harvey School District 152 board member and teacher at Bloom Township High School District 206. 

She was convicted in 2004 and jailed 180 days. In 2013,  former Gov. Pat Quinn pardoned her. In 2022, Rogers was implicated in a hiring scheme at the South Cook Mosquito Abatement on 155th St. and Dixie Hwy, according to a report released by the Cook County Inspector General’s Office. The inspector general called for her resignation.

Even though he and Key did not engage with candidates, alderman Rogers did attempt to distance himself from the selection process, he said. “I told interim mayor Shirley my wife is a candidate, I don’t feel comfortable by being on the interview process,” Rogers said. 

Still, he defended his wife’s credentials. “On a scale from 1 to 10 my wife was 12,” Rogers said. “If you want what’s best for this city, then you got what’s best for this city.”

Confusion over cancelled community hubs project

The council also faced a reckoning over the vote to cancel the “Community Hubs” project, six miniature community centers and police stations that have left residents and officials confused over their true purpose. 

The original engineering and development contracts were awarded in 2022. The City Council approved a redevelopment agreement funded by a state grant to finance the construction. 

Engineers Antero Group described the project as “multi-purpose community hubs across the six Police Wards of the City of Harvey. This Project will enhance public safety through community policing, new community gathering spaces, and create a new venue for community engagement.”

During an October 2023 finance committee meeting, late mayor Chris Clark lied that the hubs weren’t ever intended to function as community centers, responding to questions from Chapman (2nd). In early 2024, Chapman criticized the unfinished structures as eyesores.

The council approved a $1.27 million contract in February 2024 with Chicago-based Cortex Construction, LLC to complete the hubs and a related police substation, setting a Sept. 30, 2024 deadline. Payments were structured in monthly installments, with 5 percent retained until final completion. The original contractor had been unable to finish the work, Clark said.

During the Feb. 23 meeting, Drewinski noted the city still holds the grant funds, but they are restricted and can be used only for the intended project, not for any other purpose. 

The land could be used for future development, but no specific plans have been announced, city officials said. The city is focused on stabilizing its finances and addressing mounting debt.