The dispute over liquor licenses in Dolton took a decisive turn as Mayor Tiffany Henyard was found in contempt of court this past Friday. The embroilment, stemming from an allegation that Henyard was stonewalling the issuance of licenses for a new local establishment, ended with the mayor being coerced by the court to fulfill her obligations. According to WGN News, Henyard had been delaying the signing of licenses for St. Patrick's, a restaurant and banquet hall ready to serve the community.
Despite the Village Board's prior approval and the mayor's repetitive assurance to issue the licenses, the delay continued and owners of St. Patrick's were left facing a shuttered start. Adrian Vuckovich, representing the owners, expressed his exasperation, saying "It shouldn’t be so difficult. This is an ordinary event to get liquor licenses issued," nevertheless the owners had to see their day in court to push through the red tape, which Henyard herself had promised to cut through during the previous court session on Wednesday.
On Friday, a direct inquiry from Cook County Judge Cecilia Horan on whether Henyard would sign the licenses was met with evasive rhetoric. "The judge asked the mayor, 'Will you sign these licenses?' and instead of signing them or answering the judge directly, she began talking in circles and so that’s when the judge made one determination of what’s called indirect criminal contempt," stated Vuckovich, as reported by WGN News. This led to Henyard being found in contempt for showing disrespect to the authority of the court.
Under the looming threat of further contempt charges, Henyard signed two of the three disputed licenses, but the saga is far from over, as the third license and additional reparations remain sought after by the proprietors of St. Patrick's. The legal battles have undoubtedly incurred financial and temporal losses, with business owner Tiffany Kamara lamenting, "This should have been over in November," in an account to NBC Chicago.
Max Solomon, representing Henyard, attributed the delay to administrative details saying, "It is very important for people to understand that the documents signed today had another entity on there. That was the holdup."
