Furious residents of the town of Dolton, Illinois, are demanding the resignation of their controversial mayor, who has been called “the worst mayor in America.”
Self-proclaimed Democratic “super mayor” Tiffany Henyard, 40, has been accused of embezzlement — and vetoed an investigation into the allegations last month.
A Dolton village board meeting on Monday to discuss the veto descended into chaos as dozens of residents banged on doors to get in, but only about 40 were allowed inside.
“Why can’t we have transparency about what’s happening with our tax dollars?” said one resident Fox32.
The meeting, where trustees were expected to approve an investigation into Henyard, ended suddenly when police cleared the room and said there had been credible threats.
Tiffany Henyard, 40, who calls herself the Democratic “super mayor,” has been charged with assault and embezzlement
“Why can’t we have transparency about what’s happening with our tax dollars?” said one resident
Henyard said: “As you can see, our village, our community and myself are under attack. It’s a shame that people come to meetings and only tell one side of the stories and don’t get to hear the whole side of both stories.’
The high-profile mayor, who earns $300,000 for her public duties, has spent thousands more on first-class travel, a professional hair and makeup team and a security guard. She is accused of unlawfully signing off contracts, as dozens of unpaid suppliers threaten to take the city to court.
Henyard has also been accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by a former employee. The former employee claims the mayor fired her after she said she was sexually assaulted during a business trip in Las Vegas.
“You know what happened in Vegas. You know what happened. And you should address it,” one resident said during 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 a photo posted to Instagram, Henyard even appeared to pose with a dog laden with jewelry
The FBI is now investigating the spending on limousines, first-class flights and a professional hair and makeup team
The city council had approved a motion to ask agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Cook County Sheriff and the 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 city of 20,000 about the unpaid bills.
The mayor has admitted a $2 million deficit, blaming administrators for incompetence, but some fear the real figure could be as high as $5 million.
The city owes more than $427,000 to a company that repaved the streets and another $400,000 to a tree-trimming company that did work for it last year.
“The mayor can blame everyone else for what’s going on, but she needs 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 staffer 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 by the Illinois attorney general last month amid claims that she used taxpayer money and the services of government employees.
She and other officials are accused of spending more than $67,000 in public funds on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City, traveling first class on some flights and spending $13,000 on a stay in New York.
‘It’s a shame that politics is being played. What happened is a million dollars was cut from my budget because of politics,” said Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey.
The first female mayor in the city’s 128-year history met with President Joe Biden at the White House 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 and declared that she will ‘forever be the mayor of Dolton’
One resident, Lawrence Gardner, alleged that Henyard forced the closure of his trucking business after refusing to renew a $3,500 contribution to her political fund.
The mayor was criticized for hiring her former campaign staffer as the city’s law enforcement officer, despite the fact that he is a convicted child molester.
She also raised eyebrows after spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on security details, including one where she took officers off the street to perform a protection outfit.
A successful recall was rejected last year due to a technicality that left her dancing on a stage to the tunes of Rihanna’s ‘B***h Better Have My Money’ at the subsequent board meeting.
“I am and forever will be the Mayor of Dolton,” she posted on Instagram, prompting some to dub her the “Dolton Dictator.”
She has not been charged with a criminal offense and is defiant of critics who she says “should be ashamed of themselves.”