Tiffany Henyard is accused of extravagant spending that drove the village of Dalton, Illinois, into bankruptcy (photo illustration). (Dalton Village | stylemebrandon – Instagram/Screenshot)
The Illinois State Comptroller’s Office has suspended some funding for the village of Dolton after the village failed to turn over financial records, the latest development in an ongoing saga in which controversial village Mayor Tiffany Henyard has been accused of fraud, overspending and corruption allegations.
The move comes amid reports that the self-proclaimed “super mayor” has reappointed as police chief the deputy police chief who was fired after being indicted by a federal grand jury on bankruptcy fraud charges. Meanwhile, the state comptroller also said the Dolton village clerk told his office he had been ordered not to respond to any Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza immediately suspended the village’s “offset” funds, citing the village’s delinquent filing of annual reports, including financial statements, audits and tax increment financing district reports, for the past two years. Offset funds are taken from state payments that the Comptroller’s office withholds from people who owe delinquent fines, such as traffic tickets, and other payments to municipalities, including Dalton.
Scandal-ridden Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s police associate indicted on bankruptcy fraud charges
Mayor Tiffany Henyard, a politician who has been embroiled in a number of controversies, held another contentious meeting with constituents this week. (Fox 32)
“When Illinois municipalities have legitimate issues submitting their annual reports to the Department due to staffing or other issues, the Department works diligently with them to bring them into compliance,” Mendoza said in a statement.
“Dolton is different. The Mayor’s office has refused to communicate with us or address the issue. If Mayor Henyard refuses to follow state law, my office will use the tools available to us to protect the interests of the citizens of Dolton.”
Mendoza said in a statement that her office has repeatedly notified Dalton about the delinquency over the past two years.
Last week, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released preliminary findings on the town’s finances, revealing that as of April 2022, Dalton’s general fund balance was $5.61 million, but by May 2024, the balance has shrunk to a deficit of $3.65 million.
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.
Last year, the Illinois State Comptroller sent the village of Dalton $120,000, which was subtracted from state payments to residents, such as income tax refunds and lottery winnings, Mendoza said. This year, the village expects to receive about $135,000.
Controversial mayor posts video with Biden days after accusing colleague of ‘attacking black women’
Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza immediately suspended all “offset” funds to Dalton, Illinois, citing failure to submit annual reports. (Illinois State Comptroller’s Office)
The Illinois State Comptroller said it would subject Dolton to mandatory audits and penalties under state law if the company continues to fail to file the reports.
“The agency can impose fines of approximately $7,000 per year for each unfiled report, bringing Mr. Dalton’s penalties to a total of $78,600 as of today,” the statement said.
“This is in addition to the approximately $135,000 in offsetting penalties the agency will pay to the Village of Dalton each year if the Village Administration does not resume filing the reports.”
The village last filed its 2021 report in 2022, but the 2022 and 2023 reports are behind schedule and not yet submitted, the state comptroller said.
The Illinois State Comptroller also said Dolton Village Clerk Allison Key emailed the auditor’s office saying Administrator Keith Freeman told her he could not comply with the FOIA request.
“Mr. Freeman illegally removed me as FOIA Officer without any board approval or vote,” Key wrote in an undated email. “He has continued to interfere with the FOIA process for the past two years.”
Freeman was indicted on bankruptcy fraud charges earlier this year and there appears to have been some rift between him and Henyard. Earlier this month, Henyard announced he had fired him, but the trustee disagreed.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot hired for $400 an hour to investigate so-called “America’s worst mayor”
On the left is former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and on the right is Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard. (Getty Images/Dalton Village)
Meanwhile, WGN reported that Henyard told the officers to continue to follow the orders of former Deputy Police Chief Lewis Lacy, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on Monday on bankruptcy fraud charges. Lacy pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
According to the media, he is accused of receiving more than $200,000 in overtime pay from 2022 onwards.
Lacey was fired as the town’s deputy police chief last week in a cost-cutting move during a contentious village board meeting that included Henyard. Fox 32 Chicago I will report.
In a video obtained by WGN, Henyard can be heard telling officers on Thursday, “Stop playing these stupid games,” before Lacey appears to tell the assembled staff that they will be punished if they don’t comply. “Do what you want, but anything more than this is insubordination,” he told the outlet.
The FBI has launched an investigation into allegations of financial misconduct in the city of Dalton, which has a population of just over 20,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 2023 estimate, and which some locals have called dictatorial.
Henyard, who typically speaks into a golden microphone at conferences, has been accused of sexually assaulting one of her associates during a trip to Las Vegas. The alleged victim claims she was fired after coming forward. Henyard’s cancer charity has also come under scrutiny, with FOIA documents revealing that she paid a stylist $7,650 in six transactions between April 6 and June 5, 2023.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Henyard is living like royalty, earning a combined income of $300,000 – more than the governor – in the Illinois town’s 23,000 residents, where the average income is $24,000.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s outfits were professionally styled by fashion experts. (stylemebrandon | Instagram/Screenshot)
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.
The first involved the employment records, personnel files and disciplinary reports of 25 Dolton employees, including the three police officers and Freeman.
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.
