Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released her initial findings into her investigation of Dolton, Illinois, Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s spending, which has been at the center of controversy surrounding the town.
Lightfoot, who is a former federal prosecutor, found that the town had not had an audit since 2021. Lightfoot was hired for $400 per hour earlier this year to investigate the suburban community’s mayor over her lavish spending and first-class travel on the town’s dime.
Village trustees had long been warning that Dolton was in dire financial trouble, but Lightfoot’s findings were more troubling than some thought, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
“I knew we were broke, and the way she broke it down, this is real,” resident Valerie Stubbs told NBC Chicago.
Lightfoot said Dolton’s general fund balance is $3.65 million in debt and has been depleted from a surplus fund of more than $5.6 million in April 2022, which was around the time Henyard took office.
The investigation revealed that as of June 18, 589 checks worth more than $6 million had been approved but had not been sent to vendors. More than $40,000 worth of Amazon purchases are also under review.
“As of May 30 of this year, the village’s general fund was in a net deficit position,” Lightfoot said, adding that “since March of 2023, the village has been unable to pay all its monthly expenditures.”
The investigation also revealed thousands of dollars spent on the village’s credit cards. The investigation revealed nine domestic trips, $43,000 spent on Amazon in one day, $8,000 of purchases at Wayfair, and $2,000 spent at Best Buy.
“These are somebody using the credit card and charging these amounts using your tax dollars,” Lightfoot said. The credit cards that Henyard and other bad actors had access to were recently frozen by the village and now require the town board to approve purchases.
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When Lightfoot took on the investigative role, village trustees wanted her to look into a lavish trip Henyard and other town workers took to Las Vegas. In 2023, Henyard was accompanied by two village trustees and some village employees on a trip to Sin City. While on the trip, one village employee said she was assaulted by another employee but was then retaliated against and fired by Henyard for speaking up about it.
Her time as mayor has been riddled with controversy. In addition to retaliating against a victim of sexual assault, Henyard has been accused of embezzling taxpayer funds and has been called the “worst mayor in America.” Henyard, a Democrat, describes herself as a “Super Mayor.”
