Former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has been tapped to investigate accusations against self-proclaimed “super mayor” Tiffany Henyard over alleged corruption, reckless spending, and retaliation.
Ms. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, was appointed special investigator during a meeting held by the board of trustees on Monday night.
The allegations against embattled Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard come as the small Chicago suburb faces a $7 million deficit.
Ms. Lightfoot will reportedly be paid $400 an hour, plus expenses, to probe the allegations.
“The residents of Dolton deserve nothing less than a government that is fully accountable, responsive, transparent and effective stewards of your precious tax dollars,” Ms. Lightfood said.
Ms. Lightfoot will look into a series of events surrounding a taxpayer-funded trip to Las Vegas in May 2023. Several Dolton employees, two board trustees, security detail, and a former assistant accompanied the mayor on the trip which was meant to focus on “economic development.” Ms. Henyard, however, allegedly failed to provide any details or publicly report on the outcome of the trip.
Furthermore, her former assistant claimed that she was sexually assaulted by an unidentified board trustee on that trip and then was later fired by the mayor after she reported her claims.
The mayor now faces three separate lawsuits from former employees who allege wrongful termination.
Ms. Henyard was absent from Monday night’s meeting but maintains her innocence against all allegations.
She recently launched a podcast amid the controversy.
“Get ready for the most entertaining political podcast ever! Tiffany Henyard On Tha Move Podcast is filled with humor, facts and most importantly The TEA! Get your weekly dose of excitement straight from SuperMayor Tiffany A. Henyard “The People’s Mayor,’” according to the description of the podcast.
In February 2021, Ms. Henyard was elected with 82 percent of the vote and became the first and youngest woman to serve as mayor of Dolton. She survived a recall vote in June 2021 after the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the votes to recall her were invalid. The Illinois Attorney General recently shut down her charity after it failed to provide reports on funding. The FBI is also investigating her alleged financial corruption.
The mayor is also accused of misspending federal COVID-19 relief funds and accepting large campaign contributions from vendors that she personally chose. She also faces allegations that she hired contractors without proper bids and overpaid vendors without board approval.
Dolton residents expressed their concerns over the mayor’s alleged actions at a public meeting last month. But the mayor called the allegations “fake” and later vetoed a resolution passed by the village board to investigate her spending.
“It’s facts over fiction for me. I will state facts. I will show receipts, and I will make sure our community is back together as one,” she said.
But the hiring of Ms. Lightfoot as a special investigator in the case ignited controversy itself. The former Chicago mayor lost her re-election in a landslide last year and only received 17 percent of the vote as the city faced record-high crime.
“America’s worst ex-mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has been hired to investigate America’s worst mayor, Tiffany Henyard!” one social media user wrote. “Only in Illinois!”
Another user cited her $400 per hour pay and criticized the probe as “quite expensive” but hoped it would be worth it.
Ms. Lightfoot promised a “thorough and timely, independent investigation” and said it could be completed within 60 days. When the probe is finished, she will share her findings and recommendations.
NTD reached out to Ms. Henyard for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
