Thornton Township, Illinois board meeting ends abruptly in brawl

    SOUTH HOLLAND, Illinois (WBBM) -- Punches were thrown and expletives flew as a brawl erupted during a Thornton Township Board meeting Tuesday night.

Leaders of the south suburban Chicago township were forced to clear the hall and stop working, again, as chaos erupted.

The township board meeting Tuesday night was the first in months. Embattled Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard made a rare appearance, and ended up getting in the fray herself.

The brawl started after the public comments portion of the meeting. The last to offer public comments was Jedidiah Brown, who made a lengthy harangue directed at Henyard that ended with his calling Henyard a "b****."

Before Brown could get back to his seat, Henyard's allies — including her boyfriend, Kamal Woods — confronted Brown. At that point, punches went flying.

Several men joined the tussle, where people threw punches and started kicking. Security then tried separating the man.

Meanwhile, witnesses said Henyard — who was seated at a table at the front of the room with the board of trustees — ran toward the tussle. It was unclear whether Henyard was trying to break up the fight or to get involved herself, but she did lose a shoe and was thrown to the floor.

Woods, Henyard's boyfriend, was also at the center of the Thornton Township Board of Trustees' agenda Tuesday night. The newest trustee, Stephanie Wiedeman, made a motion to put Woods and another employee, William Moore, on administrative leave.

Woods was hired by Henyard to run the township youth program — and many on the board and in the community have questioned the work that Woods and Moore, also a Henyard ally, ever did in Thornton Township.

The board placed Woods and Moore on paid leave immediately, as investigations into their positions began.

Henyard tried keeping the trustees from making the vote on Woods and Moore, and argued that placing Woods on leave is nothing more than personal.

"No, and this is political retaliation, so again, thank you for the lawsuit," Henyard said after the vote, "because you all just picked certain individuals. You all didn't come in here and do no research, so I appreciate it."

But what was clearly not appreciated was the chaos the residents saw firsthand. People left the meeting saying how embarrassing the entire night was for the township.

Thornton Township Trustees released the following statement on Wednesday:

"We are deeply disturbed by the events that transpired during last night's board meeting. As public officials, we are entrusted with leading through professionalism, integrity, and respect. What began as a productive discussion on critical community matters descended into chaos and violence, behavior that has no place in Thornton Township and will not be tolerated."

South Holland police were called into the meeting, but it was not clear whether anyone was arrested or detained. But police kicked everyone out of the building, and the fight ended the board meeting, which was never formally adjourned.

South Holland police declined to comment.