A police officer is the latest public employee to file suit against the village of Dolton and controversy-plagued Mayor Tiffany Henyard, accusing Henyard of illegally declaring other officers promoted to sergeant, when they didn't pass the tests and weren't approved by the village board.
The lawsuit further accused the mayor and police brass of retaliating against him for reporting other alleged misconduct by a fellow officer to the state's police standards oversight board.
According to the complaint, Devries filed an anonymous complaint in October 2023 with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, accusing another officer of allegedly writing bogus parking tickets to residents and others "to boost revenue for the Village."
A few weeks later, Devries was identified as the village's top candidate to be promoted to the rank of sergeant. According to the complaint, he ranked first on the department's eligibility list with a score of 72.9%. According to the complaint, officers must score at least 70% to be placed on the eligibility list.
Scores were calculated, in part, using so-called "chief/merit" points. According to the complaint, Devries received two merit points, or 40% of the total possible.
Other officers received more "chief/merit" points than Devries, apparently boosting their overall scores. However, those officers still did not score at least 70%.
The complaint asserts the list was not created legally by the BFPC, but rather solely by the board's chairman, Devonte Stewart, who is employed by the village.
According to the complaint, Devries emailed Stewart, "explaining that the Final Eligibility List appeared to include individuals who did not qualify to appear on the list and that it violated the law to include those individuals," because their scores were too low.
According to the complaint, Stewart did not respond to the email and Devries was then ordered by a commander "not to contact Stewart."
Stewart is named as a defendant in the action, along with Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey.
Despite their alleged apparent illegal inclusion on the list, Henyard on Jan. 2, 2024, declared four sergeant candidates to be promoted without a vote by the village board, and administered the oath of office to the four officers.
A few days later, according to the complaint, Stewart issued a "revised promotional list," which allegedly artificially altered the scores to place Devries last on the list, giving the other four new sergeants significantly higher scores.
Then, at the end of January and in February, Devries was allegedly required to undergo "disciplinary interrogation" concerning his earlier supposedly anonymous report to the ILESTB.
Devries confirmed he had filed the report with the state board.
The village then ordered Devries suspended without pay for five days.
Devries asserts the suspension amounted to illegal retaliation against him for reporting misconduct, which is protected by the Illinois Whistleblower Protection Act.
Devries is seeking a court order finding the village violated the law and ordering the village to pay him compensatory damages of more than $5,000, plus attorney fees.
Devries is also asking the court to declare the village promoted sergeants illegally. He is seeking a court order requiring the village to promote him to the rank of sergeant, with back pay, or require the promotion of sergeants to be placed before the village board, as required by law, with a vote based on the November 2023 final eligibility list, not the allegedly altered list issued in January, allegedly to justify the promotion of the other four candidates.
The lawsuit is but the latest targeting Henyard's administration.
Henyard has been repeatedly accused of corruption, misgovernance and lawlessness since she took office as village president in the south suburban community in 2021.
Those accusations have spilled over repeatedly into Cook County court and now federal court, where she and the village have been sued for a variety of claims.
A growing number of current and former village employees have accused Henyard of misconduct, including illegal retaliatory discipline and terminations.
Other officials in Dolton have accused Henyard of misusing village police for her own security and raiding the village's funds for her own personal benefit and enjoyment, throwing lavish parties and spending large sums on "hair, makeup, photography and graphic design" for various promotions.
And the village's former police chief has sued the village, claiming he was fired because Henyard believed his wife was too friendly with Henyard's political opponents.
Henyard's behavior has drawn attention from the Illinois Attorney General's Office over her creation of an allegedly fake charity run by political allies. Published reports also indicate the FBI is investigating allegations of corruption in Dolton and Thornton Township.
In addition to her salary as mayor of Dolton, Thornton Township pays Henyard over $200,000 per year in salary.
Most recently, the Dolton Village Board moved to appoint a mayor pro tempore to preside over village board meetings Henyard reportedly is skipping, in alleged dereliction of her duties as mayor of the village.