The former police chief for the village of Dolton has added his name to the growing list of current and former village officials and others suing the village over the actions of controversial Mayor Tiffany Henyard, accusing Henyard of illegally firing him last fall over personal politics.
On Jan. 29, Robert Collins Jr. filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against the village.
Collins is represented in the action by attorney Richard F. Blass, of Elmhurst.
The lawsuit centers on Collins' abrupt ouster from the top spot in the village's police department last October. At the time, Collins declined to discuss the termination in detail, telling a reporter for The Daily Southtown that "he understood his firing was 'under the orders of the mayor,' Dolton Village President Tiffany Henyard.
Collins had served as police chief in Dolton since 2021, when he was installed as chief by Henyard shortly after she took office as mayor.
The Daily Southtown noted that Henyard said she had hired Collins to develop a "comprehensive policing plan to fight crime" in Dolton, which she said was "one of (her) top priorities" as mayor.
In recent days, Dolton has garnered attention for high profile criminal and policing incidents. On the morning of Jan. 31, notably, four people were shot amid a hail of bullets in the parking lot of an auto parts store in the village.
In the lawsuit, Collins notes he had received no discipline, nor had any officials ever expressed any concerns over his leadership and service at the Dolton Police Department.
Rather, according to the lawsuit, Collins asserts he was fired because Henyard believed Collins' wife was too "friendly" with people Henyard considers to be "political opponents."
The lawsuit asserts that should mean his termination violates the Illinois Human Rights Act, which forbids adverse employment actions because of marital status.
Further, Collins asserts Henyard lacked the authority to fire him without first notifying him of the pending action, and without securing the approval of the Dolton Village Board of Trustees. Collins asserts such advice and consent from the village board prior to firing him was required under both Dolton village ordinances and Illinois state law.
Henyard is not named as a defendant in the action.
Collins is seeking damages, including lost wages and benefits, and more than $50,000 for emotional distress.
The lawsuit is just the latest litigation launched against the village and Henyard in recent months, as multiple storms of controversy continue to swirl around Henyard.
On Jan. 18, for instance, the families of two men who were either killed or severely injured following a police chase in Dolton in 2016, sued the village, asking a judge to order Dolton to pay them $33.5 million under a jury verdict they had secured in August 2022. In that complaint, the families asserted the court order was needed because of severe financial mismanagement in the village under Henyard's administration.
Henyard has also been sued by a tavern for withholding their liquor license over politics.
And she has been sued by Dolton's village clerk and members of the board of trustees, who accused her of refusing to follow state laws, of lavish personal spending of taxpayer money and of using Dolton Police as her personal security, among a list of other corruption allegations.
Henyard has been separately accused of funneling "thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to a private foundation that bears her name,” but officially led by public employees under her control. The foundation ostensibly supports survivors of cancer. Published reports further accuses Henyard of authorizing thousands more in specious expenses for a group bicycle ride in Springfield, and for two ice rinks that were never authorized by the village board.
Last December, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office demanded financial reports from Henyard's purported charity, but those demands were not fulfilled by the deadline of Jan. 12, according to published reports.
Published reports have also indicated the FBI is looking into Henyard's management in Thornton Township, where she serves as township supervisor and receives a salary of $200,000 a year.