Tiffany Aiesha Henyard[1] (born 18 June 1983) is an American politician currently serving as the mayor of Dolton, Illinois, since 2021 and supervisor of Thornton Township since 2022.
[7] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also interviewed witnesses and subpoenaed records related to Henyard's alleged corruption.
With the board of trustees successfully overriding the veto in a 4–2 vote, ten village employees were immediately laid off from their positions.
[18] In August 2019, CBS 2 Chicago (WBBM-TV) reported that a residence which Henyard owned as a landlord, and for which she received Section 8 housing subsidies had a severe mold problem, as well as issues with water leakage.
In November 2019, the same channel reported that the residence's mold situation had become severe enough that it was deemed uninhabitable and its tenant was forced to move out, but that Henyard had continued to receive Section 8 Housing subsidies.
[24][25] Her tenant accused her of failing to remedy the mold problem, and media scrutiny raised more concerns over the prior inspection history of the property.
[32] In February 2024, Fox 32 Chicago (WFLD) reported that numerous individuals in Dolton had confirmed to them that they were interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of a probe into Henyard's activities as mayor.
[33] The Chicago Tribune soon after reported that an unnamed law enforcement official had confirmed to them that an FBI investigation into Henyard existed.
[34] The Dolton Board of Trustees' legislative counsel, Burt Odelson, noted in April 2024 that the village government was a defendant in almost forty active lawsuits related to Henyard's conduct.
[35] On April 19 2024, the FBI entered the Dolton City Hall to serve subpoenas for records related to the alleged corruption by members of the town government.
The suit asserts that the village did not act in accordance with its zoning codes when it prevented the church from renovating a building it had acquired.
[55] In January 2024, city trustee Brittney Norwood expressed worry that Dolton was headed towards bankruptcy due to the spending, noting that it had $7 million in debt.
[58] In February 2024, the village was warned by KS State Bank[59] that thirteen vehicles used by the police department are at risk of repossession.
[61] In early 2024, Collins filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that his dismissal had come without cause and without approval from the village board, and that it had been motivated as retribution for the mayor's perception of his wife and a number of his personal acquaintances as being political adversaries.
[63][64] In September 2023, Fox 32 Chicago published an investigative report on Henyard's use of a police security detail, noting that this practice cost the village hundreds of thousands annually.
[67] In April 2022, the Dolton Village Board began the process to recall Henyard, adding two questions to the ballot for the 2022 Illinois elections.
[b] In June 2022, Judge Paul Karkula directed the Cook County Clerk to disregard votes cast on the referenda.
[71] On March 3, 2022, Henyard was appointed and sworn in as the supervisor of the Thornton Township, following the death of incumbent Frank Zuccarelli.
While Henyard will retain a salary $224,000 so long as she, as the incumbent, continues to hold the office of township supervisor, any successor will be paid $22,400 per year for the same position.
[84] Municipal attorney Burt Odelson, who stands in political opposition to Henyard, called the move, "so illegal in so many ways" and "violates so many tenets of the law."
He argued that equal protection requires salaries to be "identity blind", meaning that they cannot change based upon who holds the office.
[86][87] In late-February 2024, reporters were barred from attending a public township Black History Month event, being told that they would need to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to be granted admission.
The plaintiff alleges that, after the end of her leave, she was refused entry into the township building and forced to complete her work in her car.
The report noted that thousands of taxpayer dollars had been spent on a group bicycle ride to the state capitol in Springfield, Illinois to support a bill related to breast cancer, despite the fact that the state legislature was not in session at the time and that the cited bill was never formally filed.
[92] A January 2024 investigation by WGN-TV's investigative journalism team reported that the township spent $10,248 on hotels that were on the route of a 2022 protest traveling between Dolton and Springfield, Illinois, that was sponsored by the nonprofit, and there have been instances where township trustees were requested to approve large sums of funding to be directed to the charity.
After the charity failed to meet the February 16 deadline to do so, the Illinois Attorney General's Office ordered it to cease soliciting donations, and threatened to take action to recover money that had been paid to its board members and staff.
[90] In March 2024, a representative of the nonprofit responded to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, but provided an incomplete filings that lacked key records on its finances.
[14][32][97] Henyard previously owned a restaurant named "Good Burger", originally located in Calumet City and then on the campus of South Suburban College.