'No further discussion': Carbondale mayor isn't taking questions about domestic incident

Mayor Mike Henry is not going to talk about the incident that cast a pall over his re-election earlier this month.

At Tuesday's meeting of the city council - Henry's most visible public appearance following reports of a domestic incident at his home just days before the April 2 election - the re-elected mayor made it clear in his responses to public questions that he has nothing to add about the incident, which has been the subject of speculation due to conflicting accounts of the incident that have emerged.

"There will be no further discussion of this for my part," Henry said in response to Robin Reed, who questioned whether the mayor had received preferential treatment from police.

On the afternoon before the April 2 election, the city issued a press release acknowledging that at around 11:45 p.m. March 30, two Carbondale police officers were on foot patrol when they heard a disturbance coming from the mayor's house.

The investigation revealed a disturbance was occurring between the mayor and his wife. The officers remained at the scene until officers from the SIU Department of Public Safety responded to complete an independent investigation at the request of the Carbondale Police Department.

There were no arrests or charges filed, and there reportedly were no injuries "requiring medical treatment." State's Attorney Mike Carr has declined to pursue any charges. Henry responded to the incident on his Facebook page on the eve of the election.

"Our porch doors were open and our arguing drew the attention of a police foot patrol, who were walking the neighborhood in response to some recent thefts," Henry wrote. "Ironically, they were doing exactly what they should have been doing as part of the targeted foot patrol policies I have been encouraging.

"There was never any violence, or threat of violence," Henry added. "Just some hurt feelings in a difficult family situation."

But an SIU Police report obtained by the Carbondale Times and other media paints a contradictory picture in which both Henry and his wife were found with blood on them. According to the document, SIU officers "photographed John's injuries and Theresa's bloody clothing and where Theresa reported being struck." They also found that "John had a bite mark on his right hand and scratches on his chest from some type of struggle over a cell phone with Theresa."

The report concludes that the mayor willingly left the home for the rest of the night. Just a few days later, he won election to his second term as mayor over challenger Nathan Colombo.

The controversy came along with other news related to the police. Earlier this month, Henry and the city council faced questions over the size of the Carbondale Police Department, which some say is far too large for a city the size of Carbondale.

Protestors demanding Henry's resignation alleged that Henry, long a vocal supporter of the police, lied about the incident at his home with the assumption that police would not correct him ahead of the election.

At Tuesday's meeting, one member of the public questioned the integrity of Henry's past statements supporting the police in light of the incident at his home.

Henry said that in regard to his support of the police, "I would say that again today."