Is she the best woman they could find?
The village of Dalton, Illinois, will hire former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate scandal-plagued village leader “dictator” Tiffany Henyard as residents demand her resignation. We are considering.
Lightfoot, who won re-election in a landslide last year, will be tasked with investigating numerous allegations against her self-proclaimed “super mayor,” including diversion of taxpayer funds for luxury travel and sexual assault allegations. . Fox 32 reported.
According to the paper, four members of the Dalton Board of Trustees proposed appointing Lightfoot (at a rate of $400 an hour) as additional legislative counsel since she is a former mayor and a former federal prosecutor. It is said that there is.
“I hope she does a thorough investigation from an unbiased standpoint,” Nakita Cloud, Henyard’s former chief of staff, told the Post Friday night.
Henyard has faced allegations of corruption and reckless spending during his three-year term, but has come under increased scrutiny after the city recently admitted it had a multimillion-dollar deficit.
But her scandal centers on a taxpayer-funded “economic development” trip to Las Vegas last May.
The state Department of Human Rights has launched an investigation into two complaints filed against Mayor Dalton’s office. The complaint alleges that the former assistant was sexually assaulted by an unnamed trustee while in Sin City.
Henyard allegedly tried to silence the victim and a Dalton police officer who knew about the incident.
“Finding what happened in Las Vegas is extremely important to residents,” Dalton board member Brittney Norwood told the Post.
Her constituents also complain about the ostentatious mayor’s giant billboards with her face plastered all over town and the “militarization” of local police against political opponents.
The board accused her of concealing personal expenses she paid using village money. Over the past year, Henyard’s government has refused repeated requests for financial documents from the board, leaving the Daltons’ financial situation in the dark.
Last month, Henyard vetoed a resolution unanimously passed by the village board to begin an investigation and called for the village’s financial records.
Asked what she hoped the investigation would uncover, Ms Norwood said: “I hope now that the appropriate authorities come and give her the information that we should know about the village.” But I hope so.”
“We still don’t have financial information, we still lack documentation. We’re hoping that someone in the proper authorities can come and force transparency from the administration, that’s all.” she continued.
“We really hope that the appropriate authorities come and force her to be transparent and that the administration is transparent and works with the board.”
The FBI also investigated Henyard’s tax and financial resources, including hundreds of thousands of dollars paid by the village in police overtime to protect Henyard and accusations that Henyard held licenses for certain businesses. It is also reported that they are investigating allegations of unauthorized use of
Henyard has repeatedly refused to resign.
The village board is scheduled to vote on Lightfoot’s employment resolution at a special meeting Monday night.
“Former Mayor Lightfoot had experience as a mayor, so I think that’s a good thing for the residents of Dalton,” Cloud said. “With her experience as a federal prosecutor, she’s going to look at this issue in a way that others don’t.
“I hope she comes out with the truth about all the finances and what really happened in Las Vegas,” she added. “I believe the victim. I believe the alleged victim.”
Lightfoot’s job includes providing regular updates to the board about the investigation and providing a comprehensive report at its conclusion. If approved, she would be hired for $400 an hour, Fox 32 reported.
Lightfoot has experienced her own struggles in her mayoralty.
She became the first sitting Chicago mayor in four decades to lose reelection after the Democrat’s term was marred by surging violent crime in the Windy City.
Under Lightfoot, Chicago recorded 695 murders at the end of 2022 and 804 in 2021, levels not seen in 25 years.
She caused controversy by blaming race and gender for the historic defeat.
