Dolton Public Library
CHICAGO — A federal judge has tossed an attempt by a library board member in troubled suburban Dolton to sue the library district she helps lead for allegedly mistreating her after she got into a physical fight with a library district business manager at a library district Christmas party.
On Nov. 10, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis dismissed the lawsuit lodged by Dolton Library District Board Member Sonya Williams against both the library district and Dolton Library business manager Katrina Hankins.
Williams had sued the district and Hawkins in 2025, about two years after she and Hankins had gotten into a physical altercation at the district's Christmas party in December 2023.
According to court documents, Williams accused Hankins of assaulting her "because of her (Williams') perceived affiliation with the Dolton Mayor at the time, who was under scrutiny for misuse of Village funds, and because Williams had campaigned for more racial diversity in Library staffing."
Court documents do not further detail Williams’ staffing diversity goals at the library, which serves a community that, according to U.S. Census Bureau records, is 90% black.
The "Dolton Mayor at the time" was former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard. Throughout her scandal-plagued tenure as Dolton's chief executive, Henyard stood out as a lightning rod for controversy.
After she was elected as mayor of Dolton in 2021, Henyard then went on to also claim the office of Thornton Township supervisor through a questionable process that The Lansing Journal described as “an unprecedented series of nominations and votes,” that resulted in Henyard’s selection with just 10 minutes remaining before a legal deadline.
Throughout her tenure in office, Henyard was accused of corruption and mismanagement, drawing the attention of both the FBI and the Illinois Attorney General's office.
And her clashes with other government officials and government employees in Dolton and Thornton Township have resulted in a blizzard of lawsuits, accusing her of misconduct, illegal retaliation and more.
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.
After years of political and personal clashes amid the accusations of corruption and mismanagement, Henyard was removed from office by voters in the spring of 2025 in a landslide vote in favor of her chief opponent, then-village trustee Jason House.
Even after her ouster, however, Henyard's legal issues have continued, as she and her boyfriend are defending themselves against a lawsuit brought by two men who claim Henyard's boyfriend and even Henyard herself physically attacked them at a Thornton Township meeting at which one of the men criticized Henyard.
Court documents do not explain the connection between Williams and Henyard.
However, the sharp feelings from Henyard's handling of local government in the community may have precipitated the fight between Williams and Hankins.
In addition to counts of assault and battery against Hankins, Williams' lawsuit further hit the library district with counts related to the district's alleged treatment of her in the months and years following the fight, which Williams asserted "sparked an intimidation campaign that included physical attacks, verbal abuse, and exclusion from Library access and business."
According to court documents, this included a letter sent by the library to Williams "ordering her to stay away from the Library," and further alleged physical altercations with Hankins, including an incident in 2024 in which Hankins allegedly injured Williams' shoulder.
Williams asserted "these incidents were part of a 'formal policy to batter, obstruct, harass and intimate' her from exercising her First Amendment rights, including diversity in staffing."
"She further alleges that the 'policy arises from Dolton Library’s years’ long refusal to train or supervise or discipline Hankins,' whom the Library has since promoted."
According to online records, Hankins currently serves as the library's interim business manager.
In her decision, however, Ellis said Williams waited too long to sue the library district, as Illinois law allows only one year to pass before someone must file suit, if they wish to sustain a claim against a local government in the state.
And Ellis said Williams "provided few facts" to support her claims against the library for intentional infliction of emotional distress, instead relying only on her own claims about Hankins' alleged attacks.
Ellis said Williams fell short of establishing her claim that the Dolton Library had a "widespread Library policy or practice ... to allow Hankins to batter, assault, obstruct, harass and intimidate (Williams) to punish her for her perceived affiliation with ex-Mayor Henyard and to chill and silence her from exercising her First Amendment rights to advocate for more diversity among Library staff.”
"Indeed, Williams’ allegations suggest individualized misconduct rather than a widespread practice" needed to sustain a claim against the library district, Ellis said.
Williams is represented in the action by attorney John W. Heiderscheidt, of Chicago.
The Dolton Library District and Hankins are represented by attorneys David J. Flynn, of Sudekum Cassidy & Shulruff, of Chicago; and James J. Sipchen, of Pretzel & Stouffer, of Chicago.
