Residents of Dolton, Illinois, demanded an explanation from embattled Mayor Tiffany Henyard while attending a contentious board meeting Monday night.
Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the way the village is being run and also questioned government spending during the meeting, which was filled with interruptions, disruptions, shouting and walkouts.
Dolton police and Cook County sheriff’s deputies attended the meeting, and attendees were required to pass through metal detectors to get in. At least three women were escorted out by police after accusing Henyard of being “disorderly.” According to FOX 32 Chicago.
“This village deserves much more than what it is getting. From an outsider’s perspective it has been cheated, deceived and misled,” said one woman at the public comment podium.
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Mayor Henyard has been accused of financial misconduct and weaponizing police attacks, leading critics to call him “America’s worst mayor.” Henyard has also come under fire for an alleged sexual assault by one of his associates during a trip to Las Vegas, with the alleged victim claiming she was fired after coming forward. Mayor Henyard’s cancer charities have also come under scrutiny.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was hired by the village of Dalton in April to be a “special investigator” to investigate Henyard, and FOX 32 reported that the findings are due to be released Thursday and will reveal that the village is deeply in debt and may not be able to make payroll within weeks.
“It’s infuriating to see this village being ruined by this woman,” another longtime resident said during a speaking opportunity.
Henyard, who is under investigation by the FBI on corruption charges, has behaved in a confrontational manner toward the people he is supposed to represent.
“Those who say things about me, prove it, because like I said, fact and fiction are different,” she said during the meeting.
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A “credit card spending freeze” for the village was approved during the meeting, FOX 32 reported, meaning only the director of administrative services can use the village’s credit card for “board-approved purchases,” with a limit of $5,000 per transaction.
“There are a lot of people in the village with credit cards, and they’re swiping their cards like crazy, so it had to be stopped completely,” said Michael McGrath, an attorney representing Dalton’s trustees. According to WGN-TV. “There are thousands of dollars in purchases on Amazon, Paypal, Target, Walgreens, Jewelers, etc.[Osco] This can amount to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.”
During the meeting, the board agreed to fire the acting police chief and several village employees to cut spending, but FOX 32 reported they reported to work Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the local station learned that the two men sitting next to Henyard during the meeting were federal criminal defense attorneys in Chicago who attended the board’s closed-door executive sessions despite not receiving compensation from the village.
The population of Dalton, Illinois is estimated to be over 20,000 in July 2023. U.S. Census Bureau. It is located in Cook County and is considered a suburb of Chicago.
FoxNews’ Bradford Betts and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
