More drama unfolds in Dalton.
Controversial “super-mayor” Tiffany Henyard escalated her ongoing feud with the Dolton Village Board on Tuesday by continuing with a board meeting despite it having been postponed. Fox 32 Chicago I will report.
Henyard, a Democrat, has been at odds with the committee for months following allegations of overspending and corruption, but at the committee meeting he declared his administration had “cleaned up” the suburban Illinois town despite reports of a budget deficit.
She also appointed new village officials at the meeting, but those appointments likely won't be valid.
Scandal-ridden Mayor Tiffany Henyard's police associate indicted on bankruptcy fraud charges
Mayor Tiffany Henyard attended Tuesday's meeting. (Fox 32)
The board decided to postpone Tuesday's regular board meeting until Sept. 12 to address “several urgent matters,” including finalizing the village budget, opening a new bank account and hiring a new auditor, a board spokesperson told Fox 32.
But Henyard's lawyer, Beau Brindley, argued that the delay violated Illinois law because there was no proper notice, and said he believed the commission's actions interfered with Henyard's ability to perform his duties as mayor.
Although there was not a quorum as only two people were present, Andrew Holmes and Stanley Brown, the Mayor allowed the meeting to continue.
“As you can see, the board decided not to attend and the secretary also decided not to attend,” Henyard said at the meeting, which was attended by about 20 members of the public.
This is the latest in a series of public disputes between the mayor and the commission.
Henyard has rejected the committee's request to open a federal investigation into his alleged misuse of funds and has also refused to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has been tasked with leading a special investigation into the mayor.
In May, the commission appointed a temporary mayor to replace Henyard if he refused to carry out his duties.
Mayor Lightfoot's review of the town's finances revealed that the Town of Dolton's general fund balance was $5.61 million in 2022, but by May 2024, the balance has fallen to a deficit of $3.65 million, a preliminary report showed.
Fox News Digital reached out to Henyard's office for comment on those figures and for a statement on why he proceeded with Tuesday's meeting, but did not immediately receive a response.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard. (Getty Images/Dalton Village)
Lightfoot also alleged that Henyard used the village's credit card to Buy on AmazonTarget, Walgreens, Wayfair and other retailers. In one surprising statement, the mayor in question spent $33,000 on Amazon on January 5, 2023.
Ms Henyard declared the town clean on Tuesday, despite the serious allegations levelled against her.
“If you look at everyone, you'll understand the struggle and you'll understand why this happened, because when we took over, we cleaned up the village of Dalton,” Henyard said.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot hired for $400 an hour to investigate so-called “America's worst mayor”
“So when I got the complaints, I told them, 'Make sure you take care of your residents.'
Henyard said he had the “receipts” and announced that he would be giving a speech soon on the current state of the village, urging residents to keep an eye on future developments.
The mayor also appointed a new village attorney and village administrator on Tuesday, although there was already one village administrator in place.
“Because Keith Freeman is still the village president, she can't appoint committee members,” said former village trustee Valeria Stubbs, according to Fox 32. “All of that is illegal. The meeting should have been adjourned when a quorum was not reached.”
The clash over Tuesday's meeting came on the same day that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a binding opinion finding that Dalton repeatedly violated the open meetings law this summer.
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard is facing allegations of misuse of public funds.
He found that Henyard and the village council failed to make the meetings “convenient and open to the public” on June 3 and July 1. He ordered Dalton to make all future meetings convenient and open to the public, including by allowing adequate space and not closing roads or setting up parking barricades.
Henyard remains under investigation by the FBI for accusations of financial misconduct.
Additionally, Louis A. Lacey, a former deputy police chief in Dolton and an ally of Henyard, was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month on bankruptcy fraud charges, and is accused of concealing assets and income to avoid paying creditors and settling lawsuits.
In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Henyard after six people, including “business owners, former village officials and one or more public officials,” reported him for alleged misconduct.
The FBI issued two federal subpoenas in April as part of its investigation, but Henyard was not served with one.
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Tiffany Henyard in outfits professionally styled by fashion experts. (stylemebrandon | Instagram/Screenshot)
The first involved the employment records, personnel files and disciplinary reports of 25 Dolton employees, including three police officers and Keith Freeman, the village manager and Mr. Henyard's top aide. Mr. Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud.
The second subpoena was issued specifically to Freeman, seeking records relating to all businesses he has ties to and possible ties to the village.
Fox News' Sarah Lampe Whitten contributed to this report.
