Posted on: August 17, 2024, 11:24h.
Last updated on: August 17, 2024, 11:24h.
Tiffany Henyard, the self-described “supermayor” of Dolton and the supervisor of Thornton Township, the second most populated township in Illinois, has been cut off by the state comptroller’s office.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Friday that the state is freezing $135,000 owed to the Village of Dolton until Henyard becomes transparent about her spending of taxpayer money. Henyard is under federal investigation for reckless and lavish spending on personal matters on the village’s dime.
Among her many questionable expenses was a first-class roundtrip to Las Vegas last year where she ran up over $10,000 in casino resort, hotel room, and dining expenses. Mendoza said she’s withholding Dolton’s $135K check until the village submits financial records as required by state law.
“When municipalities around Illinois are having legitimate problems filing their annual reports with us, based on staffing or other issues, we earnestly work with them to get them into compliance,” Mendoza said in a statement.
Dolton is different. The mayor’s office has refused to communicate with us or address the problem. If Mayor Henyard refuses to follow state law, my office will use the tools at our disposal to safeguard the interests of Dolton’s citizens,” Mendoza stated.
Mendoza reports that her office hasn’t received a financial filing from Dolton since 2021. Annual reports for 2022 and 2023 are delinquent, Mendoza explained.
Irresponsible Spending
Mendoza is keeping so-called “offset” funds from Dolton, which the state issues to townships and municipalities annually that are collected from things like traffic fines, income tax refunds, and lottery winnings. Dolton received $120K last year.
Henyard’s alleged reckless spending, which includes a private security detail fit for a U.S. president or royal, has put her in hot water.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is leading a probe into Dolton’s finances on Henyard’s watch.
A preliminary report raised questions about the mayor regularly using a village credit card at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair, and other retailers. She spent $33K on Amazon with the village credit card alone. Investigators believe the mayor has spent over $1 million of taxpayer money on herself and her closest allies.
Dolton’s population is only about 20K people. More than 20% live in poverty with the average median income at just $24K.
Henyard, meanwhile, is paying herself $270K annually and has proposed that the next mayor be paid only $25K, something her critics say is designed to fend off opponents from seeking the mayor’s seat.
Las Vegas Allegations
Henyard’s 2023 Las Vegas trip with an entourage of 13 raised many eyebrows.
One of her top supporters is Dolton Trustee Andrew Holmes, a community activist who allegedly sexually assaulted a now-former township employee on the Las Vegas trip.
The woman, Fenia Dukes, was on the trip as one of Henyard’s assistants. She alleged in a lawsuit she was raped by Holmes in a casino hotel room, a claim that Dolton police officer Byron Miles who was also on the trip supported in the legal filing.
The officer said Holmes called him bragging about hooking up with the assistant. On FaceTime, he panned the camera to show the partially dressed woman lying in the bed. The officer said in the complaint he could not tell if the woman consented.
In the aftermath of the lawsuit, the woman says she was forced to take unpaid time off and was later terminated. The police officer was demoted and removed from Henyard’s detail.
