Plaintiff in FOIA lawsuit won't accept former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's affidavit
Henyard's attorney, Beau Brindley, reached the agreement ahead of Wednesday's hearing held via Zoom after Cook County Judge Kate Moreland said Henyard would be fined $1,000 for each day she failed to either produce documents requested by the nonprofit Edgar County Watchdogs, or submit an affidavit explaining she didn't possess them.
Despite being filed Tuesday, the affidavit is 'deficient … and must be disregarded,' attorneys for the Edgar County Watchdogs said in a response filed Wednesday. They said the affidavit does not include a certificate that it was made under penalty of perjury and that it lacks both specificity and credibility.
Brindley said he had already begun amending the affidavit to meet the requirements and would work with the Edgar County Watchdogs' attorneys to ensure both sides were satisfied before filing the amended document.
'We can try to fix this thing so we can get it resolved, which is in everybody's best interest,' Brindley said.
Edward 'Coach' Winehaus, one of the attorneys representing the Edgar County Watchdogs, told the Daily Southtown via email that he believes Moreland's fines will remain in effect until the amended affidavit is filed. That would mean that, as of Tuesday when the first affidavit was filed, Henyard would owe $8,000 in fines.
Henyard was held in contempt of court last month 'for her repeated and flagrant violations of the court's orders' in the lawsuit the Edgar County Watchdogs filed against Dolton for FOIA violations during Henyard's tenure as mayor, according to an order Moreland filed Monday.
At a hearing Friday at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago, Brindley told Moreland Henyard no longer had the documents.
The affidavit filed Tuesday explained the steps Henyard took to look for the requested record, a document Henyard held up at a January public meeting as proof that trustees canceled a credit card.
According to the affidavit, Henyard does not recall the document the organization requested or where it came from. She said she did not take any village documents with her when she left office and the document in question would remain in the possession of the village.
'After becoming aware of the requested documents, I searched all of my personal documents to ensure I had nothing related to the January meeting,' Henyard said in the affidavit.
She said she also searched her email with terms related to the January meeting, such as 'credit card' and 'cancelled credit card,' without success, and sent emails to Mayor Jason House and Village Administrator Charles Walls requesting they locate the document. She said neither House nor Walls responded.
'I have no other mechanisms through which to seek a single document, the content of which I simply do not recall,' Henyard said in the affidavit.
The Edgar County Watchdogs' attorneys said the affidavit failed to include steps taken to comply with the FOIA while Henyard was mayor, as was the case when they filed the lawsuit.
'If the 'search' was performed only recently, then the steps she performed when in office — such as potentially destroying the documents — would be available for testimony and therefore must be included in the affidavit if she hopes to purge the court's contempt order,' the response said.
Edgar County Watchdogs filed its lawsuit in February 2024, a month after failing to receive those records along with copies of all credit card statements since Oct. 1, 2023. Dolton, which since last month has been under House's leadership, complied in providing the credit card statements but said they lacked the document Henyard held up at the January meeting.
The Edgar County Watchdogs claim in the lawsuit the only response to their Jan. 5 FOIA requests came from Village Clerk Alison Key, informing them the village administrator at the time, Keith Freeman, instructed staff not to reply to requests that she entered.
Henyard's tenure as mayor, which ended last month, showed a pattern of ignored or denied public records requests.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
How a strawberry delivery driver was caught in a fight between Newsom and Trump
The strawberry delivery driver was making his last drop-off in Little Tokyo, unloading nearly a dozen boxes onto the sidewalk outside the Japanese American National Museum. Inside the building, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies were holding a news conference about a Democratic Party plan to fight back against President Trump's efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives through redistricting in Texas. Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios knew nothing of the powerful men's clash as he stacked cardboard boxes filled with ripe, red fruit Thursday morning. He also didn't know that dozens of Border Patrol agents were massing nearby. Minguela was caught between the two spectacles. His life was about to be upended. In the days that followed, Newsom accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate the president's political opponents by sending the immigration agents. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin has said the agents were 'focused on enforcing the law' not on Newsom. Newsom has since submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records from the administration about why agents arrived at the museum as he was announcing his latest skirmish with the president. For Minguela, who has been in the country for close to a decade, that day felt a lot more personal. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and now faces deportation back to Mexico. Speaking from behind a plexiglass window at the 'B-18' federal detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, Minguela stressed that he is not a criminal. 'One comes here to work, not commit crimes,' said Minguela, who wore the same red T-shirt and jeans he'd been arrested in four days prior. When asked last week whether the person arrested outside the news conference had a criminal record, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency would share a criminal rap sheet when it was available. After four follow-up emails from a reporter, McLaughlin on Saturday said agents had arrested 'two illegal aliens' in the vicinity of Newsom's news conference — including 'an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker.' Asked twice to clarify whether the alleged gang member and narcotics trafficker were the same person, Homeland Security officials did not respond. But when presented with Minguela's biographical information Monday, the department said he had been arrested because he overstayed his visa — a civil, not criminal, offense. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News on Aug. 15 that operations were based on intelligence about the alleged Tren de Aragua gang member. They arrested that man two blocks away from Newsom's news conference. Two law enforcement sources who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak with the media told The Times they had received word from federal authorities that Little Tokyo had been targeted because of its proximity to the Newsom event. For those who know Minguela, it felt like mala suerte — bad luck. As Martha Franco, one of Minguela's employers, put it, 'He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.' :: Like every other weekday, Minguela rose before the sun to start his 2 a.m. delivery route Thursday. He had around eight places to hit. He'd worked for the same produce company for around eight years and never missed a day. That day, Minguela left his partner and their three children — ages 15, 12 and 7 — asleep in their home, hours before the kids would head off for their first day of school. His partner, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, had worked the night before as a cashier at a liquor store. She did not get off work until about 12:30 a.m. She brought him coffee as he started his day. Shortly before 6 a.m., Minguela called his partner to wake her up so she could take the kids to school. Throughout the morning, they checked in with each other on how the day was progressing. She called to warn him about immigration agents at Slauson and Miles avenues in Huntington Park. Over the last couple of months, as immigration raids became a part of daily life, the couple's world had slowly shrunk. Minguela had overstayed a tourist visa after fleeing the Mexican state of Coahuila in 2015 because of violence he faced there, his partner said. She said he had worked servicing ATMs there, was kidnapped twice and at one point was stabbed by people intent on stealing the money. After his employers cut staff, she said, he lost his job, helping drive his decision to leave. Because he was undocumented, he rarely went out, leaving the house only for work and errands. Minguela began wondering whether it was even safe for him to pick up the kids from school, his partner said. He planned ahead, made copies of his keys and left money for his family in the event that he was grabbed by immigration agents. That morning, he reassured his partner he was fine. He was heading to his last stop at a tea room in Little Tokyo. 'Ten mucho cuidado,' his partner told him. Be very careful. :: The Border Patrol agents descended on 1st Street in Little Tokyo about 11:30 a.m., just as Newsom's news conference got underway. They were decked out in camouflage and helmets, their faces obscured by black masks. One wore an American flag neck gaiter. They were armed, some with AR-15-style weapons. Nearby, Minguela was busy unloading several boxes of strawberries and a box of apples. He didn't notice the agents until they were close behind him. Then, he ducked back inside the van. A video shared with The Times shows at least eight Border Patrol agents as they passed the van, its side door wide-open. They did not stop. Then, one appeared to double back and peek inside. Minguela said he feels he was targeted based on his physical appearance. When the agent began asking him questions, Minguela said he pulled a red 'know your rights' card out of his wallet and handed it to the agent. 'This is of no use to me,' he said the agent told him. Another agent soon joined them. Minguela told them he didn't have to talk. But they kept asking questions, he said. What was his nationality? What was his name? Did he have papers? 'They demanded I show them some kind of identification,' he said. 'Insisting, insisting.' The agents were armed, and Minguela said he grew scared. Believing he had no choice, Minguela said, he gave one of the agents his California driver's license. Minguela tried to call his partner twice, but she was at a doctor's appointment and couldn't answer. At 11:22 a.m., he sent her three WhatsApp messages: 'Amor ya me agarró la te preocupes.' 'Todo va a estar bien.' 'Diosito nos va a ayudar mucho.' Immigration had gotten him, he said, but everything would be fine. God would help them, he assured her. Minguela sent her a picture of an agent holding his license and seemingly plugging the information from it into a phone. Then, the agent arrested him. Video captured Minguela, hands cuffed behind his back, as the agent linked an arm through his. He walked Minguela away from the van, toward Bovino. After conferring with colleagues, the agent walked Minguela back toward his delivery van. Bovino patted the agent on the back and said, 'Well done.' At about the same time, one of Minguela's employers, Isaias Franco, received a call from Little Tokyo warning him about the immigration activity. He immediately called Minguela, whose cell number is saved in his phone under 'paisa,' countryman. Both hail from the Mexican city of Torreón. No answer. Franco texted him, trying to tell him what was unfolding. By that time, though, Minguela was already in handcuffs. :: Hours before visitation began at the detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, families began lining up along a driveway where 'B-18' was stamped in black on a concrete wall. Someone had scrawled on the ground in chalk: 'Abolish ICE' and 'Viva La Raza.' Another message read, 'Civil disobedience becomes a duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.' By 11:30 a.m., 18 people were waiting for visitation to start at 1 p.m. In less than an hour, that number had ballooned to 33. Three siblings there to visit their uncle who had been arrested at a car wash in Long Beach the day before. A woman whose uncle was taken from a Home Depot in Pasadena. Two sisters whose loved one had been arrested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in. They carried bags of medication and sweaters for detained loved ones, because they'd heard it was cold inside. Each person hoped to get in before visitation ended at 4 p.m., although it seemed increasingly unlikely for those at the back of the line. Martha and Isaias, Minguela's employers, were among the hopeful. It was their third attempt to see him. The day of Minguela's arrest, they got there too late. The next day, they arrived earlier and were in luck. On the advice of others in line, they brought a jacket to keep Minguela warm. In the years they've employed Minguela, they've only ever seen his serious, professional side. But during the five minutes they got to visit with him Friday, he spent most of it in tears, hardly able to speak. The couple assured him they would help however they could. They returned on Monday, this time bringing a blue Ralph Lauren shirt and a pair of black New Balance socks so he could change clothing. Isaias and the couple's son, Carlos, had both come, despite starting their workday at 2 a.m. 'We're going to be with him until the end,' Martha said. 'He's part of our family. He's one of us.' As the hours wore on, people in line squatted or sat on the concrete to rest their aching legs. Martha flitted around, advising people to bring sweaters for loved ones and letting them know the officers allowed in only one item of clothing for each detained person. By the start of visitation, 44 people were in line. Martha was No. 19. Families exited red-eyed, tears dripping down their cheeks after getting only a few minutes with their loved ones. About 3 p.m., after waiting three and a half hours, the Francos handed the officer their passports and identification, before finally making it inside. They had to turn off their phones. They could give Minguela only the T-shirt. The officer said no to the socks, a prohibited second item of clothing. Minguela beamed when he saw the Francos, who greeted him through the plexiglass window. He was trying to maintain his spirits, but said he felt 'impotente.' Powerless. The Francos told him not to sign anything. 'Vamos a estar con usted,' Isaias told Minguela, letting him know they would be with him. He and Carlos fist bumped Minguela through the Plexiglass. 'Échale ganas,' Isaias added, keep going. :: Minguela's children have hardly stopped crying since his arrest. During the eight years he and his partner have been together, he's helped raise her two children and their 7-year-old son, who is autistic. Minguela's lawyer, Alex Galvez, said the hope is that his client will be released on bond, as he initially entered the country lawfully and is the primary breadwinner for the family. The lawyer said he believes Minguela was arrested in defiance of a federal judge's order that immigration authorities cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants. 'It was a political opportunity. He was one of the two guys picked up right during Newsom's press conference,' Galvez said. 'They had to show something for it.' Just days before his arrest, Minguela's family had celebrated his 48th birthday. His partner made him his favorite dish, shrimp ceviche. Her birthday was Tuesday. The family had planned to go on a rare outing for a dinner of enchiladas de mole. But they spent the day without him. There was no celebration. The children asked their mother, as they have every day for nearly a week: When is papá coming home? Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Newsom demands information from Trump after Border Patrol appearance outside his news conference
Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a request Sunday seeking records from the Trump administration to explain why a phalanx of Border Patrol agents showed up outside a news conference held by leading California Democrats last week. Newsom filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking for "all documents and records" related to the Aug. 14 Border Patrol operation in downtown Los Angeles, which took place outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. At the news conference, Newsom announced a campaign to seek voter approval to redraw California's congressional maps to boost Democrats' chances of retaking the House and stymieing Trump's agenda in the 2026 midterm elections. "Trump's use of the military and federal law enforcement to try to intimidate his political opponents is yet another dangerous step towards authoritarianism," Newsom posted Sunday on X. "This is an attempt to advance a playbook from the despots he admires in Russia and North Korea." Newsom announced at the press event the 'Election Rigging Response Act" — which would scrap independently drawn congressional maps in favor of those sketched by Democratic strategists in an attempt to counter moves by Republicans in Texas and other GOP-led states to gerrymander their own districts to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, dozens of armed federal agents massed in the adjacent streets wearing masks, helmets and camouflage. Newsom and other leading Democrats, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, dismissed the Border Patrol action as an intimidation tactic. In response to questions from The Times on Sunday, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were "focused on enforcing the law, not on [Newsom]." McLaughlin said two people were arrested during the Little Tokyo operation. One was a drug trafficker, according to McLaughlin, who said the other was a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been a focus of the Trump administration's efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation efforts. She did not respond to questions about how many agents were deployed or what specific agencies were involved in the Aug. 14 operation. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who has been leading the Trump administration's aggressive immigration operations in California, was at the scene and briefly spoke to reporters. McLaughlin did not name either person arrested or respond to a request for further information or evidence of links between the arrests and the Venezuelan gang. "Under President Trump and [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences," she wrote in an e-mailed statement. "Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.' On Thursday, witnesses at the scene identified one of the men arrested as Angel, a delivery worker who was carrying strawberries when he was captured. 'He was just doing his normal delivery to the courthouse,' said the man's colleague, Carlos Franco. 'It's pretty sad, because I've got to go to work tomorrow, and Angel isn't going to be there.' In the FOIA request, Newsom's legal affairs secretary, David Sapp, called the Border Patrol deployment an "attempt to intimidate the people of California from defending a fair electoral process." In addition to documents related to the planning of the raid, the FOIA request also seeks "any records referencing Governor Newsom or the rally that was scheduled to occur" and communications between federal law enforcement officials and Fox News, which allowed the Trump-friendly media outlet to embed a reporter with Border Patrol that day. Trump's increased use of the military and federal law enforcement against his political rivals has drawn growing concern in recent months. The president deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this year. Just last week, Trump sent swarms of federal law enforcement officials to Washington, D.C., to combat what he sees as out-of-control crime, despite the fact that most crime statistics show violence in the nation's capital is at a 30-year low. Although Newsom demanded an answer by early September, the federal government is notoriously slow in responding to FOIA requests and will often delay responses for years. A spokesman for Newsom did not immediately respond to questions on Sunday about what, if any, other legal steps the governor was prepared to take. Voters would have to approve Newsom's plan to redraw the congressional maps in a special election in November. The new maps, drawn by Democratic strategists and lawmakers behind closed doors instead of the independent commission that voters previously chose, would concentrate Republican voters in a few deep-red pockets of the state and eliminate an Inland Empire district long held by the GOP. In total, Democrats would likely pick up five seats in California in the midterms under the redrawn maps, possibly countering or outpacing Republican efforts to tilt their map red in Texas. Other states have already begun to consider redrawing their maps along more partisan lines in response to growing anxieties over the fight to control the House of Representatives in 2026. Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom demands information from Trump after Border Patrol appearance outside his news conference
Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a request Sunday seeking records from the Trump administration to explain why a phalanx of Border Patrol agents showed up outside a news conference held by leading California Democrats last week. Newsom filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking for 'all documents and records' related to the Aug. 14 Border Patrol operation in downtown Los Angeles, which took place outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. At the news conference, Newsom announced a campaign to seek voter approval to redraw California's congressional maps to boost Democrats' chances of retaking the House and stymieing Trump's agenda in the 2026 midterm elections. 'Trump's use of the military and federal law enforcement to try to intimidate his political opponents is yet another dangerous step towards authoritarianism,' Newsom posted Sunday on X. 'This is an attempt to advance a playbook from the despots he admires in Russia and North Korea.' Newsom announced at the press event the 'Election Rigging Response Act' — which would scrap independently drawn congressional maps in favor of those sketched by Democratic strategists in an attempt to counter moves by Republicans in Texas and other GOP-led states to gerrymander their own districts to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, dozens of armed federal agents massed in the adjacent streets wearing masks, helmets and camouflage. Newsom and other leading Democrats, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, dismissed the Border Patrol action as an intimidation tactic. In response to questions from The Times on Sunday, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were 'focused on enforcing the law, not on [Newsom].' McLaughlin said two people were arrested during the Little Tokyo operation. One was a drug trafficker, according to McLaughlin, who said the other was a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been a focus of the Trump administration's efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation efforts. She did not respond to questions about how many agents were deployed or what specific agencies were involved in the Aug. 14 operation. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who has been leading the Trump administration's aggressive immigration operations in California, was at the scene and briefly spoke to reporters. McLaughlin did not name either person arrested or respond to a request for further information or evidence of links between the arrests and the Venezuelan gang. 'Under President Trump and [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,' she wrote in an e-mailed statement. 'Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.' On Thursday, witnesses at the scene identified one of the men arrested as Angel, a delivery worker who was carrying strawberries when he was captured. 'He was just doing his normal delivery to the courthouse,' said the man's colleague, Carlos Franco. 'It's pretty sad, because I've got to go to work tomorrow, and Angel isn't going to be there.' In the FOIA request, Newsom's legal affairs secretary, David Sapp, called the Border Patrol deployment an 'attempt to intimidate the people of California from defending a fair electoral process.' In addition to documents related to the planning of the raid, the FOIA request also seeks 'any records referencing Governor Newsom or the rally that was scheduled to occur' and communications between federal law enforcement officials and Fox News, which allowed the Trump-friendly media outlet to embed a reporter with Border Patrol that day. Trump's increased use of the military and federal law enforcement against his political rivals has drawn growing concern in recent months. The president deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this year. Just last week, Trump sent swarms of federal law enforcement officials to Washington, D.C., to combat what he sees as out-of-control crime, despite the fact that most crime statistics show violence in the nation's capital is at a 30-year low. Although Newsom demanded an answer by early September, the federal government is notoriously slow in responding to FOIA requests and will often delay responses for years. A spokesman for Newsom did not immediately respond to questions on Sunday about what, if any, other legal steps the governor was prepared to take. Voters would have to approve Newsom's plan to redraw the congressional maps in a special election in November. The new maps, drawn by Democratic strategists and lawmakers behind closed doors instead of the independent commission that voters previously chose, would concentrate Republican voters in a few deep-red pockets of the state and eliminate an Inland Empire district long held by the GOP. In total, Democrats would likely pick up five seats in California in the midterms under the redrawn maps, possibly countering or outpacing Republican efforts to tilt their map red in Texas. Other states have already begun to consider redrawing their maps along more partisan lines in response to growing anxieties over the fight to control the House of Representatives in 2026. Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
