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Dolton mayor says $33M judgment has grown to $40M, vows proposals to plaintiffs within weeks
Summary
Dolton’s mayor told residents the village faces a ballooned court judgment that rose from $33 million to $40 million, credited public turnout with delaying a bond deadline that would have raised taxes, and said the administration will submit proposals to plaintiffs in about three weeks while pursuing a separate federal insurance case.
The mayor of Dolton told residents that the village is confronting a major financial challenge after a state court judgment that began at $33,000,000 has grown to about $40,000,000, and promised proposals to the plaintiffs within roughly three weeks.
"We're about 3 weeks removed from the previous court trial on the $33,000,000 that has ballooned into $40,000,000," the mayor said, adding that the administration is "hard at work" on proposals and will communicate what it can and cannot do as it tries to manage the village’s finances.
The mayor credited residents’ participation in recent court hearings with a short-term win that pushed a plaintiffs’ request for a bond beyond a March 1 deadline. "By getting it beyond March 1, we have already guaranteed our taxes are gonna remain stable through next year," the mayor said, arguing that the delay gives the village more time to develop a longer-term solution.
Separately, the mayor said the village’s federal case against an insurance company — which the mayor said should have covered this liability — survived a motion to dismiss. "The insurance company made a motion to dismiss, and the village was successful in winning that case," the mayor said, and estimated a 2-to-3-year window before any potential recovery would materialize.
The mayor urged realistic expectations about immediate actions given constrained resources, saying the village will try to accomplish simple fixes quickly and will be transparent about limitations. "If we cannot do it, we will talk together about what our plan is, to move the needle forward," the mayor said.
Next steps: the mayor said the administration expects to present proposals to the plaintiffs within about three weeks; no formal vote or ordinance was recorded during these remarks.
