Furious residents of the Illinois town of Dolton are demanding the resignation of their controversial mayor, who has been called ‘the worst mayor in America.’
Self-described Democratic ‘Super Mayor’ Tiffany Henyard, 40, has been accused of embezzlement – and last month vetoed an investigation into the allegations.
A meeting of the Dolton village board on Monday to discuss the veto descended into chaos as dozens of residents pounded on doors to get inside, but only about 40 were let in.
‘Why can’t we have transparency with what’s going on with our tax dollars?’ one resident told Fox32.
The meeting, where trustees were expected to approve a probe into Henyard, ended suddenly as police emptied the room, saying there had been credible threats.
Self-described Democratic ‘Super Mayor’ Tiffany Henyard, 40, has been accused of sexual assault and embezzlement
‘Why can’t we have transparency with what’s going on with our tax dollars?’ one resident said
Henyard said: ‘As you can see, our village, our community, myself, we are under attack. It’s a shame that people can come to meetings and just tell one side of the stories and not get the entire side of both stories.’
The high-rolling mayor, who earns $300,000 for her public duties, has spent thousands more on first class trips, a professional hair and makeup team and a security detail. She has been accused of unlawfully signing off contracts as dozens of unpaid suppliers threaten to take the town to court.
Henyard has also been accused by a former employee of sexual harassment and retaliation. The former employee claims the mayor fired her after she said she was sexually assaulted at a work trip in Las Vegas.
‘You know what happened in Vegas. You know what happened. And you should be addressing it,’ one resident said at Monday’s meeting.
Henyard posted a video of herself with President Joe Biden at the White House in January after coming under fire for her high salary and questionable spending
In one photo posted to Instagram, Henyard even appeared to pose with a dog laden with jewelry
The FBI is now investigating spending on limos, first class flights and a professional hair and makeup team
The town board had voted through a motion to ask agencies including the FBI, the US attorney, the Cook County sheriff and Cook County state’s attorney to investigate Henyard earlier this year.
Henyard vetoed the invitation, but FBI agents were already talking to dozens of people in the town of 20,000 about the unpaid bills.
The mayor has admitted a $2 million deficit, blaming the trustees for incompetence, but some fear the true figure could be as high as $5 million.
The town owes more than $427,000 to a company that repaved its streets, and another $400,000 to a tree-trimming company that worked for it last year.
‘The mayor can blame everybody for what’s going on, but she has to look at herself,’ said former trustee Edward Steave.
Tiffany Heynard, the first female and youngest mayor of Dolton, Illinois, is under fire for hiring her former campaign worker Lavelle Redmond (pictured together, left) as a code enforcement officer. The 46-year-old is a registered child sex offender
Henyard had her charity ‘Tiffany Henyard Cares’ shut down last month by the Illinois Attorney General amid claims it used taxpayer money and the services of public employees.
She and other officials are accused of spending more than $67,000 of public money on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City, traveling first-class on some of the flights, and spending $13,000 on a stay in New York.
‘It’s unfortunate that politics are being played. What’s happened is a million dollars out of my budget have been cut because of politics,’ Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey said.
The first female mayor in the town’s 128-year history was at the White House meeting President Joe Biden in January, but she has been accused of shutting down businesses that refuse to donate to her campaign.
After a recall bid failed, Henyard posted this defiant image on Instagram declaring she ‘forever will be Dolton’s mayor’
One resident, Lawrence Gardner, claimed that Henyard forced the closure of his trucking business after he refused to renew a $3,500 contribution to her political fund.
The mayor was slammed for hiring her former campaign worker as the town’s code enforcement officer despite the fact he is a convicted child rapist.
She also raised eyebrows after spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on security details, including one occasion where she pulled cops off the street to perform a protection outfit.
A successful recall vote was overturned on a technicality last year prompting her to dance on a podium at the subsequent board meeting to the strains of Rihanna’s ‘B***h Better Have My Money’.
‘I am and forever will be Dolton’s Mayor,’ she posted on Instagram, prompting some to call her the ‘Dolton Dictator.’
She has not been charged with an offense and is defiant against critics she claims ‘should be ashamed of themselves’.