Condemned “dictatorial” Mayor Tiffany Henyard is back in hot water after her Illinois town hosted an $85,000 party featuring rappers and R&B artists, and her colleagues decided to cancel events planned for this week.
Henyard, who heads the village of Dalton and Thornton County, reportedly appeared to be having a great time, posting a video to social media last month of himself singing along at a party that one former board member described as a “failure.”
“I told you we always have something going on,” she cried on Facebook in mid-August, unashamedly calling herself the “Super Mayor” and “Citizens' Mayor.”
But Henyard's administration spent tens of thousands of dollars to pull off the event, called “Taste of Thornton Township,” which included performances by R&B artist Kike Wyatt for $30,000 and rapper J. Holiday for $20,000. WGN reported.
The town also spent $6,600 on the jump house, as well as paying for a sound system, personnel and equipment, totaling just over $85,000, according to the outlet.
“This is all for the babies,” Henyard asserted during the event, before referring to herself in the third person.
“You don't see this side of Tiffany Henyard, which is productivity.”
But the event apparently didn't attract a large crowd, and former Dolton board member Valeria Stubbs told WGN the party was a “failure.”
Another concerned resident, Jennifer Roberts, said she was “stunned” by the rising costs.
“I was angry,” she told the station. “It's my money. It's the people's money.”
Henyard has faced intense scrutiny in recent months over alleged misuse of taxpayer money, with subpoenas being sent to Dalton and Thornton counties as part of a federal investigation.
Many of the controversies she has been involved in have arisen as a leader in Dalton, and some residents have described her as a dictator.
The report, compiled by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said the village's spending had skyrocketed, making $43,000 a day on Amazon and draining the city's coffers.
Henyard's leadership has caused bitter divisions on the Dalton and Thornton boards, setting up a new battle to be played out on Tuesday.
Thornton Township board members have criticized Henyard for reckless spending and refused to approve several events.
Because the town is operating on an approved budget, the three-member board voted to cancel the planned gospel festival, house festival and bingo. According to the Chicago Tribune.
“Without that in place, we can't continue to spend the funds,” board member Chris Gonzalez was quoted as saying.
“Furthermore, there have been two incidents here in the last month or so where huge amounts of money have been spent unnecessarily.”
The trustees also refused to pay for other goods and services, the newspaper said.
Henyard had no problem clapping back at his colleagues.
“You just want to stop this activity in Thornton Township. There's no way you're not going to do anything,” Henyard said. According to CBS Chicago.
“But you guys are starting to say no to everything that me and our team have come up with. And I'm not seeing any ideas from any of you.”
