Electors vote Stephanie Wiedeman as new Thornton Township trustee in landslide victory

Electors chose former Thornton Township employee and Dolton Park District executive director Stephanie Wiedeman to fill a vacant seat on the board.

Hundreds of residents gathered at South Suburban College Tuesday for the special meeting, where Wiedeman secured an overwhelming majority of votes to a roaring audience. 

The confirmation may bring to an end a tug-of-war on a politically polarized board. Gerald “Jerry” Jones resigned from the board in October 2024, leaving four voting members, usually tying votes. 

The township is in a strenuous position. Property and auto insurance lapsed last month, limiting access to the township hall and resulting in a stoppage of critical services. And it’s been operating with a budget for nearly eight months, missed a tax levy deadline, and is barreling toward a Jan. 31 extension to pass and certify it with the Cook County Clerk’s Office. 

A boycott from trustees Chris Gonzalez and Carmen Carlisle isn’t helping that situation. But they were successful in running down the state’s 60-day clock for Henyard to make an appointment. That cleared the path for a special election, where Wiedeman, an ally of the two, won Jones’ seat.

“We have to work on the insurance so that we can get our services up and running again,” Wiedeman said. “The budget and the levy are top priorities right now for me.”

South Holland trustee Prince Reed was elected to serve as a moderator. Wiedeman defeated Dolton resident Charles Rayburn and Carol Cook of East Hazel Crest, where she was a trustee until 2023 and currently serves as a library trustee.

“Detrimental services like transportation and food depend on appointing the right trustee,” read a text message from a phone number associated with Supervisor Tiffany Henyard’s personal website sent Tuesday morning. Along with it, a picture of Cook. “Don’t let them steal this appointment like they did on December 3rd.” 

It was likely a jab at the Democrats of Thornton Township. Last month, Senator Napoleon Harris secured the party’s nomination for supervisor at a five-minute caucus. But not before his team packed the auditorium with his supporters and left many out in the cold unable to enter.

Tuesday marked a double blow for Henyard, who filed a lawsuit against Harris over that night’s events, which she called “election rigging, at its finest,” and did not attend the electors gathering in South Holland.

Filed Tuesday and entered Thursday, a judge dismissed Henyard’s lawsuit against Harris. In Judge Caroline Moreland’s ruling, she wrote there is little time to hear legal arguments related to the caucus after Henyard originally filed the suit in the incorrect court, before it was correctly filed later. 

Objection hearings for independent candidates and slates were last month. The deadline passed for those seeking to object to established political parties has passed, and those proceedings began last week. 

The next hearing, largely reviewing objections made against the Democratic ticket, is tomorrow at the township hall at 1:15 PM.

With Wiedeman’s election, Gonzalez is “hoping to get the township back on a better track,” possibly ending the ongoing boycott, he said. He, Carlisle, and Wiedeman have an expected alliance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll always agree, he said.

“There might be a vote or something where one of the three of us doesn’t agree, and that’s part of the process,” Gonzalez said. 

He added that there won’t be “the intimidation. There won’t be threats like, ‘I’m going to close the building,’ or, ‘The buses aren’t going to run,’ Gonzalez said. “Hopefully, that era is over. It’s definitely going to look different.”

The next regular board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6:00 PM. It’s expected to be held at the township’s hall in South Holland.