The political power struggle continues in Dolton after Mayor Tiffany Henyard appeared in court and attempted to force the village board to hold meetings at Village Hall.

The dispute stems from two dueling meetings on October 7th at two different locations. Henyard filed a lawsuit following these meetings against several trustees on the village board and park district, stating that the meetings should continue to be held at the village hall.

The trustees declined, citing a binding opinion from the Attorney General’s Public Access Bureau directing the village to take measures to make meetings convenient and accessible to the public, including requiring that meetings be held in one location , which has enough space to be reasonably accessible.

Henyard’s lawsuit called for the town hall to be the primary location for conducting village business, but a Cook County Chancery judge ruled against her on Monday.

“The meetings need to be held somewhere other than the village — just like the attorney general said,” said attorney Burt Odelson, who represents the majority of trustees.

Previously, residents had complained at board meetings about barricades, road closures and a lack of space.

“The Dolton people filed the complaint, not the lawyers. “This is about the people of Dolton and the trustees trying to fix it,” Odelson said.

Henyard was in court today along with trustee Andrew Holmes, who is also involved in the lawsuit. They said nothing, but their lawyer spoke.

“The mayor has always made it clear that the people of Dolton deserve to know where their business is being conducted… a meeting in one place – that’s all we asked for,” said attorney Max Solomon.

The judge also denied Henyard’s request to void much of the deal approved at that Oct. 7 meeting. The judge also said he was concerned that Mayor Prot. Jason House would overstep his bounds, saying Henyard was the elected mayor and had a duty to preside over meetings.

The next village board meeting could be held at the park district if the park district board approves.