Investigation Uncovers Village of Dolton’s $3.6 Million Debt – One America News Network
OAN Staff Taylor Tinsley
2:18 PM – Friday, August 9, 2024
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed preliminary findings in her investigation into Village of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
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Lightfoot’s presentation on Thursday centered around the municipality’s general fund, which is used for day to day operations of the village.
Lightfoot said the village had over $5 million in the fund before Henyard took office.
Now, it sits at negative $3.65 million.
This comes as the village’s bills continue to pile up, with Lightfoot saying there are approximately 589 checks that have been approved, printed, but not transmitted to vendors, totaling over $6 million.
The meeting was filled with disgruntled residents along with members of the Dolton board of trustees.
Audible gasps and disbelief in how the municipality’s taxpayer dollars were being spent could be heard as Lightfoot continued to present more of Henyard’s corruption.
As lavish spending drove the village into heavy debt, Lightfoot said that over the last three years, monthly expenditures have increased by 30%.
The two village departments that are the main drivers of this spending increase are the general administration and administrative compensation department and the police department.
Police costs also increased by 21% over the last two years.
This comes amid speculation that Henyard is taking them off the streets for her own security details and Lightfoot said overtime has surged by nearly $880,000.
The village has also failed to submit an annual financial report or audited financial statements, which is mandated under state law since Fiscal Year 2021, around the same time Henyard was elected mayor.
Also serving as the supervisor of Thornton Township, Henyard is currently believed to be at the center of an FBI investigation.
Since taking the position she has been accused of using hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars as her own personal piggy bank, including purchases for out-of-state trips, DJ’s, music videos, her own security detail and more.
Lightfoot revealed what exactly the village credit cards have been used to purchase.
More than $40,000 was spent on Amazon purchases in a single day, along with $12,000 in combined purchases over time from Best Buy, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair and more.
Lightfoot also highlighted trips reflected on the village credit cards including ones to Alabama, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, New York City and Georgia.
Lightfoot was hired with a rate of $400 an hour to investigate Henyard and her alleged misuse of finances as trustees decided to put an end to it once and for all.
Overall, she’ll receive about $30,000.
“Everybody tell somebody, February 2025 ‘clean house’… this has been unbelievable,” Trustee Tammy Brown said.
Earlier this week, the board also voted to freeze spending on village credit cards, essentially cutting off Henyard and other officials. Lightfoot said the investigation has been challenging due to the lack of cooperation from Henyard and her team.
She went on to say that the investigation remains ongoing, emphasizing that their findings are just preliminary.
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