Amid rising tensions with Mayor Thaddeus Jones, Calumet City aldermen brought their own legal counsel to represent them during Monday’s City Council meeting.

The council voted 6-0 Thursday to hire Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath as its legislative counsel. Ald. DeAndre Tillman voted present, as he works for the firm.

Attorney Burt Odelson represented aldermen Monday, when Jones intended to veto the aldermen’s hiring of the firm, according to the meeting’s agenda. The mayor ultimately decided to table the veto until the Jan. 22 meeting.

“The reason we were brought back is because of a lack of information coming from the mayor’s office to the aldermen,” Odelson said. “And they needed someone who were municipal lawyers who wouldn’t back down and would get to the bottom of their questions, really, and do the work.”

Aldermen raised concerns about Jones’ recent spending via a municipal credit card that came to a head when they found the mayor spent $44,000 in September, much of which was during the Congressional Black Caucus’ 54th annual legislative conference in Washington.

They voted to lower the credit card limit from $50,000 to $5,000 but continued to report difficulties receiving financial information from city staff. Jones, who is also a state representative, is under federal investigation for tax issues involving his campaign funds, the Tribune has reported, with the mayor and state representative paying tens of thousands of dollars in the first quarter of this year to a law firm that specializes in criminal defense.

Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones presides over a City Council meeting Nov. 9, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Second Ward Ald. Monet Wilson, who has spearheaded calls for transparency, said she and other aldermen had repeatedly asked for legal representation from village attorneys Ancel Glink, a Chicago firm, to no avail.

Among Wilson’s concerns were lack of implementation of actions taken by the City Council and unclear information being provided by city attorneys.

She said she was at first hesitant to hire Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath, who represented Dolton trustees in opposition of the village’s former mayor, Tiffany Henyard. The firm also represents Thornton Township Supervisor Napoleon Harris’ administration.

“We didn’t want to be tied to the sensationalism that was Dolton,” Wilson said.

The council eventually landed on the firm based in Evergreen Park due to its experience working for the city, Wilson said. Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath was Calumet City’s attorneys before Jones was first elected mayor in 2021. Jones was reelected in April.

“We were able to come together and agree that for the best interests of our residents, (Odelson) would be best,” Wilson said. “We are not Dolton, we are not Thornton Township, and we have an educated legislative body that tend to put the people of Calumet City first.”

Jones said Tuesday that he welcomes efforts to bring more transparency to the city’s government, but hiring Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath creates a conflict of interest due to Ald. Tillman’s employment there.

“It may have been unanimous, but it was illegal,” he said about the council’s vote to hire the firm.

Attorney Burt Odelson at an Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board meeting in January 2022. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Jones said he will veto the firm’s appointment to serve as aldermen’s legislative counsel as part of a larger challenge to the legality of the firm working for the city. The mayor also called Odelson personally for his previous work with his predecessor and other south suburban communities.

“It’s time somebody called him for the slave master that he is,” Jones said. “He needs to stop brutalizing these Black communities — coming in and getting the legal services. In this case, he knows that he’s not supposed to be the attorneys in Calumet City.”

Odelson said beginning work for the Calumet City aldermen felt like “going back home,” and he is excited to help them understand the city’s finances. He said rather than going through city staff, he will request information directly from Ancel Glink attorneys.

“Let them tell me ‘no, you can’t have it,’” Odelson said. “They won’t do that, they know what the consequences are there.”

Still, Odelson said his goal isn’t “to get anybody,” but to get questions answered.

“My job is to find out where everything is, do some of the work and report to the City Council,” he said.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/23/calumet-city-aldermen-legal-counsel/