Black municipal leaders in Illinois responded to recent protests after Black trustees dared to question the extravagant spending habits of a village that is reportedly millions of dollars in debt. He called for racial unity at a public meeting, leading to an altercation.
Monday, Democratic Mayor Tiffany Henyard He denounced the board of trustees of Dalton Village, just south of Chicago, and suggested they were racial traitors who were “sitting here beating and attacking black women who are in power.”
“You are all black and you should be ashamed,” she cried. “You’re all black.”
With her hair neatly tied and her earrings flashing, Henyard also suggested that she was the only community leader that mattered and that the trustees were lazy. “You are not without work or without work,” she insisted to the trustees, who dutifully attended the meeting.
“Everyone forget I’m the leader,” her rant continued. “They want to hear from the mayor. You haven’t learned that yet.
“The mayor is not a board member who doesn’t do anything. They just talk their mouths.”
Some trustees are keeping their mouths shut, and there’s probably good reason. Credit card receipts from nearby Thornton Township, another municipality headed by Henyard, show that Henyard and other officials traveled to Portland, Atlanta and New York City, flying first class and making tens of thousands of dollars. It turns out that he had saved up US dollars for accommodation expenses.
wagon Taxpayers reportedly spent more than $67,000 on those trips, and Henyard reportedly paid an additional $23,000 to treat staff and supporters to high-end restaurants in Illinois. Mr. Henyard has not adequately explained the public purpose of these expenditures, and Mr. Dalton cannot, and yet he can afford to pay his bills.
“At the end of the day, the contractors aren’t being paid,” Trustee Jason House said at the public meeting, lamenting the village’s $5 million debt. “The board approved it, but the vendor has not been paid.”
The Dalton-Thornton Township public relations firm asserted that travel funds “play an important role in building relationships, attracting investment, and securing valuable resources for town development.”
Security also remains an issue in Chicago-area villages. Earlier this month, four people were shot and injured in Dolton, but Henyard may not have noticed because he was protected by a large number of security guards. The New York Post reported that six village employees were assigned to keep her safe, sometimes working more than 100 hours a week and collecting hefty overtime pay.
“I’m not saying the police aren’t doing their job properly,” trustee Brittney Norwood quipped at the meeting. “We’re saying you’re assigning them to be here together when they’re all supposed to be out here to protect our residents so we can all feel safe.”
Dalton Police Chief Louis Lacey also expressed frustration. “It’s unfortunate the way politics is being played,” he said. “What happened was $1 million of my budget was cut because of politics.”
The median income in Dalton is just $24,000, but Henyard, who was first elected in 2021, makes $285,000 between his two municipal roles. Henyard also employs a hair and make-up stylist to help her look her best for each of her public appearances, but she pays for these assistants out of her own pocket. It is unknown whether there are any.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office is also investigating a cancer charity named after Henyard. That’s because the charity is not filing financial reports, which is required by state law for charities and nonprofit organizations. Last month, the AG’s Office of Charitable Trusts sent the following letter: letter We have notified the Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation and demanded that its leadership submit the necessary report or undergo further investigation.
“If you do not comply [by February 16] “We are left with no choice but to pursue all legal remedies to obtain compliance with the Illinois Charities Act,” the letter states.
The state Legislature’s office, Dalton Police Chief and several trustees have all expressed concerns about Henyard and her work in the public and nonprofit sectors. But at a meeting earlier this week, Mr Henyard still positioned himself as a victim of “big men” and a defender of “the people”.
“Everything we do is for the people…but we are under attack,” she argued, ostensibly addressing voters. “We’re being scrutinized by the media. For what? To love our people? To show them they’re important to us?”
“We will walk through the fire for you.”
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