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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard does not have document demanded in FOIA lawsuit, attorney says
Attorneys for former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard say they will file an affidavit explaining she does not have records required as part of an ongoing lawsuit. Henyard was required to appear in court Friday at the Daley Center in Chicago to produce documents requested last year by the nonprofit Edgar County Watchdogs that are public via the Freedom of Information Act. Cook County Judge Kate Moreland filed an order holding her in contempt May 23 for repeated violations of court orders. Though Henyard was called to testify, Henyard's attorney, Beau Brindley, told Moreland she would not take the stand due to an ongoing federal investigation into possible misconduct during her tenure as Dolton's mayor. Brindley confirmed after the hearing he is representing Henyard in the federal investigation. 'She does not have these documents,' Brindley said. 'The one document they're asking for, she doesn't remember what it is. She doesn't possess it.' The Edgar County Watchdogs sued Dolton in February 2024 after failing to receive documents requested the month prior. The lawsuit claims the groups made two separate requests Jan. 5, 2024, neither of which received a response from Henyard's office. Attorneys for the Edgar County Watchdogs said Friday the village helped fulfill the first request, copies of all credit card statements since Oct. 1, 2023. However, they still not received copy of a document Henyard showed at a January public meeting while stating trustees canceled the credit card, stating the document was proof. 'We don't believe that someone can just burn a piece of paper or get rid of … the document, and the Watchdogs aren't going to stop until they get it,' attorney Edward Coach Winehouse said after the hearing. Judge Moreland affirmed Friday that Henyard would be fined $1,000 per day as of May 30 until she produced the records responsive to the group's request or filed the affidavit. Brindley said the affidavit would be filed by Monday. After the hearing, Brindley told the Daily Southtown the case represents a 'pretty unfair focus on Mayor Henyard, who has been out of office for awhile now.' 'This is about one piece of paper at a board meeting that she had like a year ago, and they seem to suggest that she's going to still have it,' Brindley said. 'She doesn't even know what it is, and the fact that they've gone to all this trouble and a contempt hearing and everything else is just silly.' 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. 'Hopefully, you will get what you are requesting,' Key wrote the day the request was received. Henyard's tenure as mayor, which ended last month, showed a pattern of ignored or denied public records requests. The Daily Southtown reported last year the Illinois attorney general's office received more than 50 related complaints between January 2021 and April 2024 regarding ignored or denied FOIA requests. The attorney general's office also received more than 30 similar complaints from Thornton Township from January 2022 and August 2024, when Henyard was supervisor. The Daily Southtown sought records from Dolton in May 2023, and followed up again in August of that year. While the Freedom of Information Act requests were acknowledged as received, there was no response. In May 2024, lawyers for the Daily Southtown sent a letter to Dolton officials, including Henyard, outlining the lack of response and requesting the village adhere to the law and turn over records. It too was ignored. In February 2024, the attorney general's office issued a binding opinion ordering Dolton to produce records requested by WGN. The village did not, and WGN eventually won a court ruling demanding the documents be turned over. ostevens@
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard does not have document demanded in FOIA lawsuit, attorney says
Attorneys for former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard say they will file an affidavit explaining she does not have records required as part of an ongoing lawsuit. Henyard was required to appear in court Friday at the Daley Center in Chicago to produce documents requested last year by the nonprofit Edgar County Watchdogs that are public via the Freedom of Information Act. Cook County Judge Kate Moreland filed an order holding her in contempt May 23 for repeated violations of court orders. Though Henyard was called to testify, Henyard's attorney, Beau Brindley, told Moreland she would not take the stand due to an ongoing federal investigation into possible misconduct during her tenure as Dolton's mayor. Brindley confirmed after the hearing he is representing Henyard in the federal investigation. 'She does not have these documents,' Brindley said. 'The one document they're asking for, she doesn't remember what it is. She doesn't possess it.' The Edgar County Watchdogs sued Dolton in February 2024 after failing to receive documents requested the month prior. The lawsuit claims the groups made two separate requests Jan. 5, 2024, neither of which received a response from Henyard's office. Attorneys for the Edgar County Watchdogs said Friday the village helped fulfill the first request, copies of all credit card statements since Oct. 1, 2023. However, they still not received copy of a document Henyard showed at a January public meeting while stating trustees canceled the credit card, stating the document was proof. 'We don't believe that someone can just burn a piece of paper or get rid of … the document, and the Watchdogs aren't going to stop until they get it,' attorney Edward Coach Winehouse said after the hearing. Judge Moreland affirmed Friday that Henyard would be fined $1,000 per day as of May 30 until she produced the records responsive to the group's request or filed the affidavit. Brindley said the affidavit would be filed by Monday. After the hearing, Brindley told the Daily Southtown the case represents a 'pretty unfair focus on Mayor Henyard, who has been out of office for awhile now.' 'This is about one piece of paper at a board meeting that she had like a year ago, and they seem to suggest that she's going to still have it,' Brindley said. 'She doesn't even know what it is, and the fact that they've gone to all this trouble and a contempt hearing and everything else is just silly.' 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. 'Hopefully, you will get what you are requesting,' Key wrote the day the request was received. Henyard's tenure as mayor, which ended last month, showed a pattern of ignored or denied public records requests. The Daily Southtown reported last year the Illinois attorney general's office received more than 50 related complaints between January 2021 and April 2024 regarding ignored or denied FOIA requests. The attorney general's office also received more than 30 similar complaints from Thornton Township from January 2022 and August 2024, when Henyard was supervisor. The Daily Southtown sought records from Dolton in May 2023, and followed up again in August of that year. While the Freedom of Information Act requests were acknowledged as received, there was no response. In May 2024, lawyers for the Daily Southtown sent a letter to Dolton officials, including Henyard, outlining the lack of response and requesting the village adhere to the law and turn over records. It too was ignored. In February 2024, the attorney general's office issued a binding opinion ordering Dolton to produce records requested by WGN. The village did not, and WGN eventually won a court ruling demanding the documents be turned over.
Rudaw Net
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Regional, local powers laud Damascus-SDF landmark deal
Also in Syria SDF chief hails Sharaa deal as chance to build 'new Syria' UN urges halt to violence in Syria, accountability for perpetrators Christian civilians killed in west Syria violence: Watchdogs Syria's interim president, SDF chief sign landmark deal A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Regional powers and Kurdish political factions welcomed the landmark agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), expressing hope that the deal will set Syria on a positive post-conflict trajectory. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed a milestone agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state's institutions. The deal recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syrian society and includes a ceasefire across the country, as well as the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns. It is set to be implemented 'no later than the end of the year,' according to the Syrian Presidency. Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal on Tuesday as a step toward 'preserving civil peace.' 'The Kingdom reaffirms its full support for the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Syria,' the Saudi foreign ministry's statement read. Similarly, Qatar's foreign ministry welcomed the agreement, calling it 'an important step' for the stability of Syria and stressing that the country requires 'a unified army that represents all Syrian components.' Kurdish political parties in the Kurdistan Region also responded positively to the deal. Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), hailed the deal as an 'important and positive step toward strengthening coexistence and partnership in the new Syria.' He described it as a move in the right direction, paving the way for political and security stability. 'As always, I fully support the efforts of my brother, Mazloum Abdi, to promote peace and stability in the region,' Talabani stated. Hoshyar Zebari, a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), lauded the 'historic' agreement, calling it 'an important step toward shaping Syria's future.' 'The SDF will remain and will gradually integrate, and the possibility of self-administration in Rojava has become viable through negotiations and joint committees,' Zebari said on X. Salahaddin Bahaaddin, leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), also welcomed the agreement, describing it as significant 'both in its timing and its content.' He noted that it followed intense clashes between the state and remnants of the former regime, which had raised the possibility of chaos and conflict between ethnic and religious groups. Bahaadin called the deal a move in the 'right direction' and expressed hope that it would secure 'the rights and coexistence of all components in the new Syria.' Abdi welcomed the deal on Tuesday, stressing that the Kurdish-led force considers the agreement 'a real opportunity to build a new Syria that embraces its components and guarantees a good neighborhood.' The SDF's political wing - the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) - also hailed the agreement but again called for decentralization, despite the Damascus authorities' vehement condemnation of the concept. 'Syria is for all Syrians. It should be a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized state, one that honors the sacrifices made by its people,' the SDC affirmed. Farhad Shami, SDF spokesperson, said in a leaked voice recording, which Rudaw English could not independently verify, hours after the agreement that the deal is "preliminary," adding that "it was definitely done with the American mediation." "There is no such thing as the deployment of [Damascus-affiliated] forces to Hasaka. There are no changes [in this regard]," he added, noting that some of these forces could be deployed to areas bordering Turkey. Seven or eight committees will be formed to discuss prisons, oil, and other topics, and the discussions could last as long as next year, according to Shami. Following a swift offensive, a coalition of rebel groups led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - headed by Sharaa - on December 8 toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime. Sharaa was in late January appointed as Syria's interim President. After his appointment, Sharaa vowed to uphold the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. However, the international community has repeatedly censured the new Damascus leadership for its treatment of Syria's minority groups.
