Dolton Mayor Tiffany Aiesha Henyard, who has been dubbed “America’s Worst Mayor”, has disappeared after an investigation into the village’s spending revealed more than $3.5 million in debt, “out of control” credit card spending and $40,000 spend on Amazon purchases in one day.
Believe it or not, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was hired to lead the investigation into the Dolton, Il mayor.
Village trustees hired Lightfoot to address concerns about excessive spending, including taxpayer-funded billboards, ads, lavish dinners, and trips, according to CBS. Earlier this year it was reported Henyard spent $7,650 on hair and makeup after taking office and billed the city for it.
Dolton Trustee Brittney Norwood told CBS News in February that trustees were denied access to bank statements. Lightfoot uncovered further questionable spending, including out-of-control credit card use with few receipts provided.
“These are somebody using one of the credit cards,” Lightfoot said to CBS. “The village has been unable to pay all of its monthly expenditures with its available cash balance.” Riveting analysis, Lori.
Dolton Trustee Brittney Norwood said: “The last time I received the bank statement was in September of last year, and we were $7 million in debt at that time. So at this current moment, we’re saying, ‘Hey, where are the bank statements? So we can know where we are.'”
Another issue is police overtime, with two officers earning six-figure overtime pay last year, more than doubling their base salaries. One officer earned $108,000 in overtime in FY2023 and $114,000 in FY2024, while the other made $87,000 in FY2023 and $102,000 in FY2024, both far exceeding their base pay.
Recall back in April we noted that Lightfoot had landed the $400 per hour job of investigating Henyard, who was accused of mishandling funds.
Back in March, Henyard vetoed calls for an investigation into herself, which were overturned in April. A former city employee also accused Henyard of retaliation after she says a village trustee sexually assaulted her on a trip to Las Vegas last year, after which she was fired after speaking up.
During an April meeting which had roughly 150 community members in attendance – but Henyard and two village trustees skipped out on, the four remaining trustees present voted in favor of appointing Lightfoot, a former assistant US attorney, to investigate the mayor.
One community member who has known Henyard for 15 years told the New York Post earlier this year: “It seems like her aspirations and goals are for her to be a reality star. She didn’t [previously] wear all that makeup. She just now thinks she’s this reality star. I don’t know this for sure, but they say she is filming a reality show, because the cameras are always with her.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. And I have been involved in the political arena ever since I was 18.”
