Mayor Tiffany Henyard faces a federal investigation into her financial dealings, including allegations of misuse of funds, withholding business licenses, and questionable spending habits.
Residents in several suburban communities can now vote early in upcoming municipal elections . Among the key races is Dolton’s mayoral contest, where incumbent Tiffany Henyard faces a challenge from Jason House, a senior village trustee. Henyard has stirred up controversy in both Dolton and Thornton Township, where she was a supervisor, and now she’s facing an FBI investigation.
In May 2024, Henyard was named in a seven-page subpoena served at Dolton Village Hall, which asked for all payments, expense reimbursements, per diems and credit card expenditures for her, beginning just before the election in 2021. The same information was also requested from her top assistant, Keith Freeman, and a pair of businesses controlled by Freeman as well as several trustees and village employees who had traveled with Henyard. The subpoena also showed that the FBI is looking into complaints by Dolton business owners whose licenses have been held up by the village, asking for licensing information for 10 bars and restaurants, including two that were raided and closed by Dolton police in February – Rinky's Bar and Pablo's Cafe and Bar. The feds are reportedly focusing on all the expensive out-of-state travel by Henyard and her crew, including first-class plane tickets, asking for travel records for all trips, but specifying Washington D.C., Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon. RELATED: Thornton Township subpoenas reveal Tiffany Henyard is target of criminal investigation The FBI also asked for shift records for a number of officers assigned to her detail, including officer Terry Young, who last May reported working 303 hours over a two-week period. The subpoena asked for information Henyard's charitable foundation, which used employees and vehicles from Dolton as part of a march to Springfield in 2022. A federal grand jury has been conducting a criminal investigation into Henyard since November of last year. In all, the FBI served a total of five subpoenas over a two-week period on Dolton and Thornton Township, where Henyard also serves as supervisor. READ MORE HERE: Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard named in latest FBI subpoena, records requested Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was appointed by the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees to investigate Henyard in April of last year. She was tasked with launching a probe into Henyard's alleged mishandling of village funds, among other complaints. Lightfoot has also been asked to investigate a Village of Dolton work trip to Las Vegas last year. A former employee accused Henyard of retaliation after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a village trustee during that trip and was then fired after speaking up. Henyard originally vetoed calls for an investigation into herself, but that was overturned by trustees. READ MORE: 'Put cuffs on you': Dolton meeting with Mayor Tiffany Henyard, Lori Lightfoot turns to chaos Lightfoot presented initial findings from her investigation into the Village of Dolton’s 'dire' financial situation in August of last year. The bombshell report delved into the spending habits of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and her alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, highlighting just how much financial trouble the village is in. Lightfoot stated that in April 2022, Dolton's general fund balance was $5.61 million. By May 2024, the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million. The presentation detailed credit card transactions amounting to thousands of dollars and Lightfoot said millions are owed to vendors. Across the village's six credit cards that Lightfoot’s team is aware of, receipts for purchases are 'rarely provided.' Lightfoot disclosed that village credit cards have been used to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair, and other retailers. Notably, one purchase on Amazon amounted to $33,005 on Jan. 5, 2023. That same day, two more purchases were made on the site – one for $4,715 and another for $5,609.92. Another significant purchase noted in Lightfoot’s report was made on Sept. 1, 2023 – for $7,699.99 on Wayfair.com. As of June 18, 2024, at least 589 checks amounting to over $6 million were approved and printed but never sent to vendors. In another shocking revelation, the investigation found that two police officers received overtime pay exceeding their annual salaries. One officer's salary for fiscal year 2024 was $87,295, yet the officer received $114,800 in overtime pay. The second officer, with a salary of $73,515, received $102,077 in overtime pay for fiscal year 2024. Lightfoot walked residents through a 73-page presentation, which showed that for years, there had been blatant disregard for the Village of Dolton’s Purchasing Policy. 'At least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public,' Lightfoot said
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