The Dolton police chief is appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the village board of trustees, and the same board vote is required to remove one. That single rule, set out in both the Illinois Municipal Code and Dolton’s own ordinances, is the reason the last several years of leadership at the department have produced lawsuits, a restraining order, and a warning from the state agency that certifies law enforcement officers.
How Dolton Appoints Its Police Chief
Illinois gives municipalities more than one way to name a police chief. The default under the Illinois Municipal Code puts the appointment in the hands of a board of fire and police commissioners, but the statute lets a village council or board of trustees pass an ordinance assigning that power differently.
Dolton took the second route. Under the village’s code of ordinances, the mayor nominates the police chief, and the appointment is not final until a majority of the board of trustees votes to confirm it.1Amazon S3. Collins v. Village of Dolton, Case No. 2024CH00571 That mirrors the framework in 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-4, which requires board confirmation when a village opts out of the fire and police commission model.2Illinois General Assembly. 65 ILCS 5 – Illinois Municipal Code, 10-2.1-4
The nominee also has to hold an active certification from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Without it, the person is not authorized to exercise police powers or carry a firearm on duty.3Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. ILETSB – Home
How a Police Chief Can Be Removed
Firing follows the same logic as hiring. When a chief was appointed under the ordinance-based process, the mayor can move to remove or discharge that chief, but two conditions apply. The mayor must file the reasons for the removal with the board of trustees, and the removal does not take effect unless a majority of the board votes to confirm it.2Illinois General Assembly. 65 ILCS 5 – Illinois Municipal Code, 10-2.1-4
A mayor who fires a chief unilaterally, without stating reasons to the board and getting a confirming vote, has not completed a valid removal. The fired chief has grounds to argue in court that the termination never took legal effect. That is precisely the argument that has driven the recent litigation in Dolton.
What the Chief Actually Does
The chief runs the department day to day: setting operational priorities, assigning patrol coverage, directing investigations, and writing policy on things like use of force and traffic enforcement. Illinois police officers act as conservators of the peace with authority to arrest people who violate municipal ordinances or state criminal law, and the chief shapes how that authority is used.4Illinois General Assembly. 65 ILCS 5/11-1-2 – Duties and Powers of Police Officers
The job also comes with budget responsibility. Public safety has historically been Dolton’s largest governmental spending category, and police-related expenses exceeded $11.7 million in the fiscal year ending April 2021.5Illinois Comptroller. Village of Dolton, Illinois Annual Financial Report FY2021 The chief has to defend those costs to the board while keeping officers equipped, trained, and on the street, and bears accountability when the department faces civil suits over supervision, training, or policy failures.
Recent Chiefs and the Fights Over Them
The Dolton chief’s office has seen a level of turnover and litigation unusual even by the standards of contentious municipal politics. Each dispute has centered on Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s efforts to install or remove a chief without following the board-approval process the statute requires.
The Firing of Robert Collins
Robert Collins was appointed chief around May 8, 2021, by the then-mayor with the advice and consent of the board of trustees. On October 5, 2023, Mayor Henyard notified Collins that he was discharged effective immediately. According to Collins’s later complaint, Henyard did not issue written charges, did not state a cause, and did not bring the matter to the board for a confirming vote.1Amazon S3. Collins v. Village of Dolton, Case No. 2024CH00571
The complaint argued that skipping those steps rendered the discharge invalid because the removal was never confirmed by a majority of the board, as the statute plainly requires.2Illinois General Assembly. 65 ILCS 5 – Illinois Municipal Code, 10-2.1-4
The Appointment of Ronald Burge Sr.
In September 2024, Mayor Henyard appointed Ronald Burge Sr. as chief over the objections of a majority of the trustees, who said she lacked authority to install him without their consent. The trustees went to court and obtained a temporary restraining order preventing Burge from serving without board approval.
A separate problem then surfaced. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board wrote to Mayor Henyard stating that Burge’s appointment was “not legally valid due to missing paperwork and his lack of recent re-qualification.” The board warned that Burge was “currently not authorized to exercise law enforcement authority or to carry a firearm publicly” and urged the village to remove him from public service until the board could determine whether he qualified for reactivation and a training waiver.3Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. ILETSB – Home
A Cook County judge then ruled that employees appointed in violation of the Illinois Municipal Code and the village code could not work in Village Hall. Trustees alleged that Burge refused to turn over his keys, badge, and uniform. A subsequent motion to hold the mayor and Burge in contempt was denied, though the restraining order stayed in place.
Why the Pattern Matters
These fights created stretches where the legal authority of the person running the department was genuinely unclear. Orders given by a chief without valid board confirmation can be challenged, and arrests or disciplinary actions taken in that period become vulnerable to legal attack. Litigation costs, potential back-pay claims from ousted officials, and the diversion of village resources into court battles have added to the strain on an already stressed budget.
Certification the Chief Must Hold
No one can serve as a law enforcement officer in Illinois without active certification from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Before a permanent appointment, an officer must complete the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, or an equivalent program the board accepts, within six months of initial full-time employment. An employing agency cannot grant a person officer status unless the board has issued active certification.6Illinois General Assembly. 50 ILCS 705 – Illinois Police Training Act
Certified officers face ongoing training. Every three years, Illinois officers must complete at least 30 hours of in-service training covering topics that include constitutional use of authority, procedural justice, civil rights, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed practices.6Illinois General Assembly. 50 ILCS 705 – Illinois Police Training Act Annual requirements include law updates, emergency medical response, crisis intervention, and officer wellness.
Chiefs and deputy chiefs carry an added obligation: 20 hours of annual training specific to executive leadership, on top of the in-service hours required of all officers.7Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Forms and Information – Annual Police Chief and Deputy Police Chief Training These are the standards ILETSB pointed to when it told Dolton that Burge’s paperwork and re-qualification were not in order.
The Financial Backdrop
The leadership disputes are playing out against serious fiscal distress. Dolton’s most recent completed audit, for fiscal year 2021, disclosed a net police pension liability of more than $28.5 million. That obligation was the largest single driver of an unrestricted deficit that, combined with fire pension liabilities and other post-employment benefits, exceeded $46.5 million.5Illinois Comptroller. Village of Dolton, Illinois Annual Financial Report FY2021
That 2021 audit was the last one the village completed. A later investigation found the general fund for daily operations was approximately $3.65 million in the red, with hundreds of approved checks worth millions sitting unsent to vendors. The village has also faced a $33.5 million jury verdict stemming from a police pursuit. Budget conditions like these translate directly into deferred equipment purchases, difficulty retaining experienced officers, and reduced capacity to meet the state’s training mandates, on top of whichever leadership fight happens to be active in court.