Candidate petitions for the April 6 local elections were available in mid-August, and it did not take long before the firing line was established in Park Forest after Trustee Randall White announced his candidacy for mayor in an effort to unseat Joe Woods.
Anyone else wishing to become mayor would be cautioned to stay out of the line of fire between these two in the months leading up to April’s Election Day.
Adding a little spice to the political pie was a Freedom of Information Act request sent to Park Forest asking for all records concerning Woods’ use of a village-owned car as well as credit card records associated with his role as mayor.
The request specifically asks for Woods’ use of a car “on the night of an altercation” between Woods and Antiwone and Shalonda Hardy, the owners of All-Out Smoke Pit in downtown Park Forest.
According to village officials, the FOIA request was made by a business owner from Robbins.
Two years after a heated exchange between Woods and the Hardys, a lawsuit was filed by Antiwone Hardy alleging that he suffered a severe back injury and loss of teeth at the hands of Woods.
According to a report by the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, on Aug. 6, 2024, village Trustee Tiffani Graham alerted Woods that a fire had broken out in the downtown area. By the time Woods arrived the fire was out. Woods left but later called Graham and asked why the Hardys’ daughter “treated me like a (expletive deleted).”
That comment was loud enough to be heard by the Hardys, and when Woods returned to the scene two angry parents confronted him. The sheriff’s report stated Shalonda Hardy jumped on Woods’ back while Antiwone Hardy came at him with a large knife, which Graham was able to wrest away.
Following the altercation, Hardy claimed he suffered serious injury. Woods was sued and the case is scheduled to be heard in June, two months after the election.
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In what has now become a man-bites-dog controversy, Woods is now suing the village because Park Forest says it will not pay Woods’ defense or cover his expenses because his actions were committed outside the scope of his office.
Woods claims that under the village’s Municipal Code, Park Forest is obligated to pay all his legal expenses.
Meanwhile, in his statement announcing his decision to run for mayor, White touched all the bases: high property taxes, the cost of living, decent housing availability and that the village faces “an infrastructure issue that needs to be addressed.”
He also posted a plan on social media to develop a “Property Tax Summit” strategy that “shows exactly what it will take to reduce village-controlled property tax levy.”
There have been times, however, when White was also at the center of controversy, especially when the Woods-Hardy confrontation was discussed by the Village Board. White said he was “saddened and disgusted” by the incident. Other members of the board, however, challenged White’s commitment to the village through spotty attendance at village events and no-shows at numerous board meetings. When it was her turn to speak, Graham said White was the only board member “who defrauds the taxpayers of Park Forest” by his absence at numerous board meetings and events.
“That’s something we do get paid for,” she said. “We work for you (the public) but there are certain people who grandstand when they can make a point.” Trustees get $11,000 a year to mix, mingle, meet, and make themselves available to the public.
White responded to his lack of attendance at meetings and events by accusing former village manager Tom Mick of “harassment” and of being left out of the loop on village matters. But, he insisted, “no one does more for the people of Park Forest than me.”
It must be noted, however, that board members are assigned as liaisons to various community groups, and when asked to work with the Beautification Awards Committee, White declined the appointment.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.