Dolton trustees learned Monday village employees have been without life insurance since the summer, but promised to restore coverage.
The news caught trustees by surprise at their meeting while voting to renew health insurance coverage, although the cost for that has increased.
Life insurance for more than 100 employees ended last August because premiums hadn’t been paid, trustees were told.
A representative for the village’s employee insurance consultant said that message’s about the termination of life insurance had been relayed to village administration, including Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
Henyard didn’t show up for the regularly scheduled Village Board meeting, where she had included appointments for police chief and village attorney on the agenda.
Trustee Jason House, who served as pro-tem president, said afterward he and other trustees would find out how notification failed to make its way to trustees.
“That’s a good question,” he told reporters.
It was the last Village Board meeting before the village’s Feb. 25 Democratic primary, in which House is challenging Henyard in her bid for a second term.
She is under federal investigation, with authorities using subpoenas last spring to gather information from Dolton and Thornton Township, where she is supervisor.
House said the lack of life insurance affects about 120 village employees, but said trustees will work to find new coverage.
“We don’t stand for it,” he told reporters.
On the agenda were appointments by Henyard of Darryl Stroud as the village’s police chief and Max Solomon as village attorney.
Solomon is representing Henyard in at least two lawsuits, including one involving the location of Village Board meetings.
No motions were made Monday to approve the appointments, and House said after the meeting trustees had not received any information about their background or credentials.
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
