Few options remain for Dolton in $33.5 million judgement

Dolton has few remaining options for recourse after an Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the $33.5 million judgment stemming from a fatal police chase, and an insurance policy that only covers about one-third of the judgment, attorneys said.

The payment, which was considered due months ago, could be potentially devastating to a village that many say is already struggling with financial mismanagement.

The village had not, as of Thursday, asked the court to reconsider its June 20 decision, according to attorneys for one man who died and another who was severely injured in the 2016 crash involving Dolton police.

A spokesperson for the state court system confirmed Thursday the village had not completed that step.

The village could ask for its case to be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court, according to the attorneys.

Dolton attorney Michael Kasper, of the Chicago-based firm Kasper and Nottage, declined to comment on village plans to appeal because the case is still pending. Dolton trustees have also stayed largely quiet on the matter, though Trustee Jason House said Wednesday the village is “waiting for more legal direction” before deciding on next steps.

Dolton is covered at about $10.5 million by insurance, an amount that continues eroding with increasing village legal fees, according to a petition for payment the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed in January.

The petition laid out concerns about the village being able to provide the verdict, including the $23.5 million not covered, which was considered “present and due” even during the appeal’s process because the village never sought a stay on the payment.

“Plaintiffs’ judgment is endangered because there has been a breakdown of governance within the village of Dolton,” the petition said. “Dolton has not issued financial reports for the last two years. Without granting the mandamus and other relief requested in this complaint, plaintiffs have a dim chance of being paid the judgment because there has been a complete breakdown of the Village of Dolton’s accounting, internal controls, and checks and balances.”

In a statement, Dan Stohl, one of the attorneys, tied Dolton’s economic issues directly to decisions made by Mayor Tiffany Henyard, who is under investigation by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“Mayor Henyard’s ongoing use of municipal funds for personal use directly impacts Dolton’s ability to pay the judgment,” Stohl wrote, adding, “it is outrageous that Dolton is crying poverty while hiding the books.”

Under state law, municipalities are “entitled and directed” to pay the judgments owed and may do so by issuing bonds or levying taxes. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are requesting Dolton float a municipal bond to allow their clients to be paid upfront, while the village repays the bond over multiple years at an interest rate lower than what the court judgement is accruing.

The village has so far accrued about $4 million in interest at a rate of 6% that they will need to pay on top of the judgment, according to the petition.

However, Trustee House said the village is continuing to put off paying the sum for now.

“We have not reached that point,” House said. “There definitely have not been any public talks, but there are also other, what we feel to be legal matters, to be addressed within that verdict.”

Dolton has also been penalized for failing to fulfill an agreed settlement of $220,000 in a whistleblower lawsuit from 2019 despite the Village Board approving the payment. After a June 24 hearing, a Cook County court froze double the amount of the settlement in a village account. The attorney for the plaintiff in that case said the check “is just sitting on the mayor’s desk.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com