The first female mayor of a small Illinois town blasted her critics at a public meeting after sparking outrage by receiving a $300,000 salary.
The glamorous Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021 but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending.
“You should all be ashamed of yourselves because you are all black. You’re all black! And you’re all sitting here beating and attacking a black woman in power,” she said at a Monday rally in an attempt to point to her status as the first female mayor. “You all should be ashamed of yourselves.
She regularly enlists the help of a professional hair and makeup team and a stylist for public appearances and photo shoots for the county’s taxpayer-funded billboards. More recent reports indicate that she has spent tens of thousands of dollars on multiple first-class trips around the country.
The glamorous Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021 but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending
Henyard also tried to bring the law against village officials who say they are misusing funds.
“You all forget that I’m the leader. They want to hear it from the mayor. Y’all haven’t learned that yet,” she said. ‘The mayor, not the trustees who do nothing. They just run their mouths. You’re all doing no work, no work!’
Since first reporting on Henyard’s spending, it has been revealed that she and other officials have spent more than $67,000 on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City at the village’s expense, according to WGN.
Many of the flights were first class, with Henyard’s team spending $13,000 in government funds to stay in New York.
Things have gotten worse for Henyard in recent weeks, as budget cuts have been blamed for water main breaks and a mass shooting took place in the village last week.
‘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.
Henyard doesn’t understand the criticism because she believes she is working to improve everyone’s lives.
‘Everything we do is for the people. But we are under attack. We are being scrutinized by the media,” she said. ‘For what? Loving for people? Show that they are important to us? We will go through fire for all of you.’
At a public meeting Monday night, Henyard tried to shame administrators by pointing out her status as the village’s first female mayor and as a Black woman.
Dolton is a village in Illinois with a population of approximately 20,000
The village government says the problem is a matter of trust, with citizens and administrators unable to control its spending.
“At the end of the day, salespeople don’t get paid. The board approved it, but vendors are not getting paid,” said Dolton Trustee Jason House.
Fellow trustee Brittney Norwood added, “How about we be a good leader and bring (proposals) to the forefront so that not only we, but the residents and everyone else in America knows how the money is being issued.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Mayor Henyard for comment.
Henyard is always dressed in tasteful, expensive-looking outfits. She has posted photos of herself getting out of chauffeured SUVs, with one Instagram post even appearing to show her with a dog laden with jewelry.
Henyard, who often calls herself “God’s favorite,” has now sparked even more outrage by proposing a new law that would cap the next mayor’s salary at $25,000 unless she remains in the role. Fox 32 reports.
Many believe the proposal, which has been labeled “illegal,” is an attempt to deter anyone from running against her in the 2025 race. Now, trustees in her city have filed a lawsuit against her for alleged falsification and withholding of financial data.
Henyard is vilified for ‘living like a king’ and spending lavishly. She makes $300,000 a year but is trying to reduce her successor’s salary to $25,000, which critics say is a bit of a deterrent to anyone from running against her.
In the photo, Henyard steps out of a chauffeured SUV wearing one of her stylish outfits. She has been criticized for spending taxpayer money on security, as well as professional hair and makeup artists
In a photo posted to Instagram, Henyard even appeared to pose with a dog laden with jewelry
The scandal is just the latest to hit the beleaguered mayor after she was criticized for hiring her former campaign aide as the city’s law enforcement officer despite the fact he is a convicted child molester.
She also raised eyebrows after spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on security details, including one for an event with seniors and another occasion where she took officers off the street to stage a protection outfit.
Questions have been raised about how she funds her apparently lavish lifestyle, especially as she has repeatedly deflected questions and dismissed criticism by labeling township administrators as “haters” in TikTok videos.
Dolton trustees say she failed to explain the need for her eye-watering security budget. They also claim she issued checks without proper authorization.
‘I don’t see any justification. And more than that, it’s really a detriment to the citizens of Dolton,” Trustee Jason House told Fox 32.
“If we were to give the same amount of money to officers patrolling the streets, residents will see a much better presence and public safety will be better.”
Heynard, a Democrat, was sworn in as mayor in May, becoming the first woman and youngest person to hold that post in Dolton’s 128-year history.
Henyard also uses professional stylists and hair and make-up teams ahead of events, but does not say how these are funded
Heynard, the first female and youngest mayor of Dolton, Illinois, is under fire for hiring her former campaign aide Lavelle Redmond (pictured together, left) as a code enforcement officer. The 46-year-old is a registered child sex offender
After a recall bid failed, Henyard posted this defiant image on Instagram and declared that she will ‘forever be the mayor of Dolton’
A year after her election, Dolton residents initiated a recall process, largely due to her hiring of convicted sex offender Lavelle Redmond in a role that involved entering people’s homes.
According to reports at the time, Redmond, then 16, and three others kidnapped and sexually abused two girls, ages 13 and 14.
At age 17, Redmond was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but was paroled in 2016 and required to register as a sex offender. Henyard defended this move at the time, stating that convicts who have served a prison sentence deserve a second chance.
However, the recall failed due to a technical problem and Henyard remained at his post, coming to the next board meeting with a disco song and dancing on stage.
After the verdict, she also posted a defiant photo on Instagram declaring herself “People’s Mayor” with the caption: “I am and forever will be the mayor of Dolton.”
The post is one of hundreds on politicians’ profiles with glamorous portraits of her advertising various city events and holidays.
She also appears frequently on professional stylist Brandon K Momom’s account, with several ensembles hand-picked for her public appearances.
Visitors to Henyard’s website are greeted with a huge selfie and encouraged to offer donations.
Her antics have drawn comparisons to the show Parks and Recreation, a comedy that pokes fun at local government officials.