SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. – A board meeting in the south suburbs Tuesday night was feisty from start to finish but things took a violent turn during public comment when a brawl erupted.

Activist and known opponent of Tiffany Henyard, Jedidiah Brown, spoke out against the Township Supervisor, and ended his comments by calling her an expletive. Brown walked away from the podium and toward where Henyard was sitting, before pivoting toward the back of the room, where people jumped in and fists started flying.

The fight spilled into the back of the room behind the crowd of community members, left scrambling to get out of the way. During it, punches were thrown, people were standing on tables, and at least one television monitor was damaged. At one point, Henyard was seen in the middle of the brawl.

As the crowd was ushered out by private security, officers with the South Holland Police Department responded to the scene. Those involved in the fight left before officers arrived, so no arrests were made, according to police.

The communications manager for the Village of South Holland released the following statement Wednesday:

South Holland Police responded to the Thornton Township building last night regarding a fight between two individuals. A private security company, hired by Thornton Township, was present at the meeting and called South Holland Police to the scene. However, the fight had dispersed prior to police arrival, so no arrests were made. As of this moment, no charges have been filed.

The Village of Dolton Board of Trustees have also released a statement regarding Tuesday night’s incident:

Dear Residents,

On behalf of the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees, are deeply saddened and disturbed by the events that took place at the Thornton Township Board meeting in South Holland last night. To beclear, this was not a Village of Dolton board meeting, and none of the Village of Dolton Trustees were in attendance.

Our hearts go out to the residents who continue to witness such turmoil, and we share in your frustration and disappointment. It is truly disheartening to see our community cast in a negative light due to actions that do not reflect the values we stand for. Violence and chaos have no place in Dolton or Thornton Township.

As your elected officials, we want to reassure you that we remain fully committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and professional environment for all. Our priority is, and always will be, working to build a stronger, safer,and more unified community for our residents andbusinesses.

We will continue to uphold the highest standards of leadership and work tirelessly to restore trust, stability, and progress for the Village of Dolton.

Jason House, Sr. Trustee Village of Dolton

Henyard’s attorney released the following statement regarding Tuesday’s meeting:

Supervisor Tiffany Henyard was verbally assaulted, and her personal safety threatened, at the Thornton Township board meeting on January 28, 2025, by Jedediah Brown, a known aggressor against whom the Supervisor had tried to secure an emergency restraining order but was denied by the court. After a slew of insulting and inciting words, including calling the Supervisor a b****, Jedediah Brown and his accomplice, LaVell X J Redmond, an equally known aggressor and registered sex offender, attacked the Supervisor’s significant other, Mr. Kamal Woods, knocking him to the floor, kicking and punching him. The Supervisor suffered minor injuries when she instinctively rushed to the melee in an attempt to break it up.  Mr. Woods also suffered minor injuries, but both are okay.  All legal options would be pursued.

Solomon Law Offices

Before the abrupt end to the meeting, the board approved several items, which included accepting insurance on property and equipment, auto, public officials and employment practices liability, and general liability, all of which have been lapsed since the start of December, prompting the township to temporarily shutter many of its services.

For close to two months, residents have been unable to go into the township’s government building to access services. On Wednesday, those are expected to be back running again, along with other services.

“We will go back to operating our vehicles. All buses will be out and running,” said Henyard.

Even during the lapse when services were supposed to be halted, buses were spotted shuttling people to Henyard’s “Big Bingo” event.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Trustee Chris Gonzalez told attendees board members were able to obtain temporary insurance in order to hold the meeting at the township building.

Henyard has blamed Trustees Gonzalez and Carmen Carlisle’s lack of attendance at some meetings as the reason insurance policies lapsed, but both have disputed that claim, and said the board never voted on insurance in the past.

A majority of the board at Tuesday’s meeting, including new trustee Stephanie Wiedeman, voted to place two Henyard allies on paid administrative leave, a move which Henyard called ‘political retaliation.’

“Thank you for the lawsuit,” Henyard said. “Y’all just picked certain individuals.”

The two employees placed on paid administrative leave include Henyard’s boyfriend, Kamal Woods, who is involved in the township’s youth assistance program, and her confidante, William Moore.

Henyard’s power struggle with trustees, excluding Darlene Gray Everett, who typically sides with the supervisor, was on full display during the meeting.

Despite Henyard welcoming Wiedeman to the board at the start of the night, the new trustee made it clear that she would not bow down to her. Wiedeman replaced trustee Jerry Jones, who resigned in October.

“I don’t trust the person in charge to take accountability for anything else that’s going on,” said Wiedeman.

The board approved the township’s tax levy ordinance, which has been at the center of debate during recent meetings. Several other agenda items, however, failed to get a majority vote, including a property tax refund for residents and bonuses for all township employees.

Henyard, who was in favor of the property tax refund and bonuses, gave her supervisor report prior to the meeting being cut short.

“I’m so happy for all the things we have accomplished, despite what people may say,” said Henyard. “Throughout all the turmoil and all the mess, I still had my head held high and focused on your needs as residents.”

“You know what a mayor is, you know what a supervisor is, you guys now want to be like me,” Henyard said. “I love you to my residents and my youth and I’m glad I can inspire somebody that might want to get in government, might want to get in politics. I’m glad I’m able to do those things for you.”

Henyard also serves as mayor of the Village of Dolton, where former federal prosecutor and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday revealed her final findings into an independent investigation she was hired to conduct.

“The residents of Dolton have suffered needlessly because of the financial mismanagement of this current mayor,” Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot laid out a pattern of unchecked spending, including various credit card purchases that were not authorized. She also highlighted a broken FOIA system with no one on staff to properly manage public information requests and no staff accountant in the village to oversee spending.

According to Lightfoot’s findings, the village’s spending hit its peak in 2023 when over $775,000 was charged to credit cards, including more than $200,000 on Amazon purchases, and more than $117,000 on travel, including two “business trips” to Las Vegas.

“The FBI is also in contact with various people who have information about the allegations here. What they intend to do and timing of that, no one knows but them,” Lightfoot said.

Henyard did not comment on the matter during Tuesday’s meeting.