A woman dubbed “America’s Worst Mayor” will be questioned by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after her city vetoed her attempts to block any investigation – the decision throwing a city meeting into chaos.
The police were forced to do so on Monday break up the room as the situation changed following a 4-2 vote by the city council to reinstate Lightfoot, who will investigate Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
The mayor of Dolton – who spoke into a gold microphone during the meeting – is currently under federal investigation and under immense pressure from her constituents to resign.
She is under investigation for alleged misuse of city finances, which trustees say led to a deficit of more than $5 million.
The incident occurred after more than two hours of heated debate, with villagers flooding into the room to voice their significant grievances against Henyard.
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard addresses her angry constituents at a town meeting Monday night with a gold microphone
The city council voted at the meeting to authorize Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to continue its investigation into Henyard
The city government previously tried to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who worked for years as a federal prosecutor — to lead a special investigation into Henyard.
The request was rejected by Henyard because it would have opened an investigation into some of her questionable behavior and spending habits.
Henyard alleged that the board’s hiring of Lightfoot as a special investigator at $400 an hour was “an unconstitutional violation of the powers of the office of mayor.”
One resident berated Henyard before the board and the public: “You won’t understand until they come and handcuff you,” she said, referring to the FBI investigation currently underway against the city leader.
Trustee Jason House, who was previously elected mayor pro tempore at an earlier meeting, requested that Lightfoot be allowed to make comments after Monday night’s meeting.
Lightfoot attended the public meeting, but Henyard rejected the request, which she viewed as “political grandstanding.”
She called for a hasty adjournment of the meeting, which upset many audience members.
But Lightfoot got up anyway and made her way to the podium, where she was able to briefly address the audience before her microphone was cut off by the mayor’s staff.
In a statement released after the meeting, Lightfoot praised the board’s decision to override Henyard’s veto. She also underlined her commitment to conducting a thorough and fair investigation.
“I look forward to the work ahead and urge Mayor Henyard and her administration to cooperate fully with this investigation by promptly providing the requested documentation so that all involved can receive a full and accurate account of the tax conditions for the village,” she said.
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, dubbed “the worst mayor in America,” is currently under federal investigation, as well as immense pressure from her constituents to resign
Trustees in Dolton voted to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (pictured) to investigate the embattled mayor, which was initially vetoed by Henyard but overridden by the city council on Monday evening.
Lightfoot has been working on the investigation throughout the veto process, although she has not yet been paid for her work, NBC Chicago reports.
The formal investigation is expected to be completed within 60 days
Henyard blamed the media for the heat she is currently experiencing.
“You are following a fictional, made-up story,” she said.
Currently, Henyard is under a federal investigation and federal subpoenas have recently been filed seeking records of city officials’ travel and possible financial mismanagement.
The 40-year-old municipal leader has developed a terrible reputation nationwide for her confrontational antics, her failure to do her job, alleged corruption and apparent contempt for her constituents, whom she publicly and once with the help of a DJ berated.
Since her 2021 election, Henyard has faced allegations of corruption, fraud and financial mismanagement, including a lawsuit filed a month ago alleging she worked to cover up a sexual assault during a 2023 trip to Las Vegas .
Dolton trustees have estimated that the Cook County village is out about $5 million as a result of Henyard’s travels, multiple lawsuits against her, credit card use and her police security details.
One woman said at a previous city council meeting, “You are not responsible, you have no respect for people who disagree with you, you are not qualified for that seat.”
Tiffany Henyard, 40, of Dolton, Illinois, has been repeatedly called America’s worst mayor as she tries to fight federal investigation into her office’s possible criminal mismanagement
In addition to the embattled mayor, Dolton Village administrator Keith Freeman was also among the subjects of the subpoenas, which asked for information on issues including refunds related to his businesses.
One subpoena reportedly focuses solely on Henyard, and includes a section targeting a restaurant and property management company she owns, as well as her political fund and the cancer charity that bears her name.
The subpoena requests all documents, including personnel files, payroll and tax returns, time and attendance records, records of work performed, contracts and checks written out for “cash.”
The second subpoena requests municipal records, including financial reports, budgets, payroll records and ordinances related to credit card purchases, expense reimbursements, security data and vehicle use.