‘No one wants to represent the Village’: Law firm drops out of Dolton cases
DOLTON, Ill. — The law firm that represents the Village of Dolton and its embattled mayor, Tiffany Henyard, is withdrawing from nearly two dozen cases after not being paid.
“We are, of course, not required to work for free and decline to do so,” stated attorney Michael Del Galdo in a letter to Henyard and the Dolton Village Board.
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The letter says the Del Galdo Law Group is withdrawing from defending the village and its officials in cases ranging from officer-involved shootings to jail suicides and other matters. It goes on to warn the mayor and trustees that the Village may owe more than $20 million in excess of insurance policy limits in a case against them that the previous administration and board declined to settle.
“No one wants to represent the Village,” Michael Del Galdo wrote. “The Village is quickly approaching the point of being uninsurable. Failure to defend in these lawsuits will likely result in the Village being found in default on these cases.”
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The Del Galdo Law Group currently represents the village as special counsel and prosecutor. Michael Del Galdo said if his bills aren’t paid soon, he’ll also withdraw from those positions.
Henyard did not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Henyard has been at war with a majority of trustees who have refused to pay Village bills over concerns about her spending, lack of transparency, claims of political retaliation and leadership style.
The FBI served subpoenas at Dolton Village Hall earlier this month seeking employment records for nearly a dozen village employees. Henyard’s top aide in both Dolton and Thornton Township, Keith Freeman, pled “not guilty” to a charge of bankruptcy fraud last week.
The Village of Dolton has ignored a binding order from the Illinois Attorney General to turn over records under the Freedom of Information Act.
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