Dolton Mayor Jason House
DOLTON — The new political leadership in the controversy-plagued suburban community of Dolton are facing a fresh legal challenge from the village's firefighters, who have accused Dolton's new mayor of improperly installing the village's current fire chief.
The union representing Dolton's rank-and-file firefighters filed suit last month in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking a court order requiring Mayor Jason House fire and replace Dolton Fire Chief Quinton Curtis.
According to the lawsuit, House appointed Curtis to serve as Dolton's new fire chief in September 2025.
According to the complaint, House was empowered under village ordinances to make that appointment without the involvement of the village's board of fire and police commissioners.
However, the lawsuit asserts House still violated village ordinances by appointing Curtis.
The lawsuit centers on claims that Curtis does not hold the basic qualifications for the job that are laid out in the ordinances empowering the mayor to appoint the chief.
According to the complaint, the ordinance requires fire chiefs who hold the post for more than 180 days to hold certain college degrees and various firefighting and leadership certifications. And the union's lawsuit notes the fire chief must be a firefighter who has served for at least 10 years in the Dolton Fire Department.
According to the complaint, however, Curtis had served his career in the Chicago Fire Department, attaining the rank of lieutenant, before House appointed him to Dolton's top spot.
Further, the complaint asserts Curtis does not hold any of the educational or professional certifications and degrees required for Dolton fire chiefs under the ordinance.
The lawsuit claims Curtis' lack of qualifications and his decisions since assuming the position of fire chief has placed the village's firefighters "at risk.”
The complaint asserts Curtis has refused to "transition" the Dolton department to a new incident reporting system, as mandated by the federal government. This is allegedly "jeopardizing grants for the Village of Dolton," while also causing "billing and reimbursement delays" for the financially struggling village.
The complaint further asserts Curtis allegedly has failed to repair or replace equipment used by the department, allegedly including "unsafe" vehicle brakes and tires and "broken" breathing air packs used by firefighters.
The complaint further accuses Curtis of ethical violations.
The complaint asserts Curtis has violated the union's collective bargaining agreements by bringing in "lateral hires" rather than filling open positions with Dolton firefighters.
And the complaint accuses Curtis of allegedly, at one point, of trying "to utilize his side business as a candidate recruitment program for the Village of Dolton's Fire Department," which the complaint said was "an obvious conflict of interest."
According to the complaint, Curtis' initial 180 days as fire chief expired on March 15, prompting the lawsuit about 10 days later.
The union is seeking a court order requiring House to terminate Curtis' employment as fire chief, and to direct the mayor to hire a different chief fitting the qualifications allegedly spelled out in the ordinance.
The scandal comes as the latest blow to the troubled village government.
House became mayor in the spring of 2025, after voters overwhelmingly selected him over scandal-ridden Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
For years, Henyard was the target of complaints of misgovernance and mismanagement and accusations of public corruption and lawlessness in both Dolton and Thornton Township.
Henyard repeatedly clashed with House and other members of the Dolton village board.
They and other village officials in Dolton accused Henyard, for instance, of misusing village police for her own personal security, and of violating state law for refusing to fulfill lawful public information requests allegedly to hide alleged misdeeds and corruption.
Members of the Dolton village board of trustees accused Henyard of financial mismanagement, asserting she regularly racked up charges of tens of thousands of dollars per month on a village credit card, with little explanation for the charges.
Former and current village employees accused Henyard of punishing and even firing them for refusing to go along with allegedly illegal schemes.
The former Dolton police chief claimed in court that Henyard fired him because his wife was friendly with Henyard's political opponents.
Despite the change in administrations, Dolton's financial and management woes continued.
In early March, a Cook County judge all but ordered the village to raise taxes to pay more than $33.5 million to the families of two men, including one who was killed, in a crash that ended a high-speed police chase.
Now, House is accused of ignoring the village's ordinance and hiring an unqualified fire chief.
The village has not yet responded to the firefighter union's claims in court.
However, in early April, the village confirmed that Curtis would be "taking leave" from the department. They did not indicate why.
However, that announcement had in turn just days after Mayor House and the village lauded Curtis in a post on the village's official Facebook page for his "strong start" as fire chief.
The Dolton Professional Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 3766 is represented in the case by attorney Sam Hensel, of the firm of Allison Slutsky & Kennedy, of Chicago.
