Thornton Township Trustee Christopher Gonzales, outspoken critic of Tiffany Henyard's spending, dies at 53
The South Suburbs mourn the loss of a longtime and beloved public servant.
Trustee Christopher Gonzales was one of Tiffany Henyard's harshest critics in Thornton Township.
Less than a year after being sworn in for his second term in Thornton Township, Gonzales died suddenly.
At the age of 53, Gonzalez, who spent years serving the public in the south suburbs, passed away on Tuesday from a heart attack.
"This is a man who was the former Thornton Township assessor. He was also a police officer with both South Suburban College and Calumet City, so, and it's his second term as trustee, so service has been his name," said Gonzalez's publicist, Nakita Cloud.
When Gonzalez stepped to the forefront in his first term, he was an outspoken critic of then Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, even spearheading the boycott, which stalled township meetings as he pushed for accountability with spending.
"The community lost a great advocate, someone who really cared and wasn't self-serving," said former township trustee Stephanie Wiedeman
She worked closely with Gonzalez and even served on that board in Henyard's final time in office.
"Chris was always very calm and patient, and much more forgiving and understanding, I suppose, than I was. So it was always a balance with us. I was at one extreme, and he was at the other, and we would find a way to meet in the middle. So our conversations during that time were always about negotiating what we thought was best for the collective," Wiedeman said.
"I've known Chris now for what, maybe five years, and he's always done what's right," said Cloud.
Cloud said he enjoyed life and public service and that the news of a heart attack is hard to believe.
"I didn't hear any history of illness or anything like that. It's someone you're around all the time. He just came back from vacation," Cloud said.
He leaves behind a long-time girlfriend, four children, and mother---and a legacy many said is unmatched.
"Honesty, transparency, and doing the right thing 100 percent of the time," Cloud said.
"I think Chris has an understanding of what our residents needed and found ways to provide that, even if it was just in his voice," Wiedeman.
A voice silenced but never forgotten.