Early voting opens in suburbs as Dolton mayoral race heats up
Dolton’s mayoral race in the spotlight as early voting begins in the suburbs
People living in the suburbs can start voting in municipal elections. Early voting begins Monday.
DOLTON, Ill. - Residents in several suburban communities can now vote early in upcoming municipal elections.
Among the key races is Dolton’s mayoral contest, where incumbent Tiffany Henyard faces a challenge from Jason House, a senior village trustee.
Controversy with Henyard
The backstory:
Henyard has stirred up controversy in both Dolton and Thornton Township, where she was a supervisor, and now she’s facing an FBI investigation.
In May 2024, Henyard was named in a seven-page subpoena served at Dolton Village Hall back, which asked for all payments, expense reimbursements, per diems and credit card expenditures for her, beginning just before the election in 2021.
The same information was also requested from her top assistant, Keith Freeman, and a pair of businesses controlled by Freeman as well as several trustees and village employees who had traveled with Henyard.
The subpoena also showed that the FBI is looking into complaints by Dolton business owners whose licenses have been held up by the village, asking for licensing information for 10 bars and restaurants, including two that were raided and closed by Dolton police in February – Rinky's Bar and Pablo's Cafe and Bar.
The feds are reportedly focusing on all the expensive out-of-state travel by Henyard and her crew, including first class plane tickets, asking for travel records for all trips, but specifying Washington D.C., Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon.
RELATED: Thornton Township subpoenas reveal Tiffany Henyard is target of criminal investigation
The FBI also asked for shift records for a number of officers assigned to her detail, including officer Terry Young, who last May reported working 303 hours over a two-week period.
The subpoena asked for information Henyard's charitable foundation, which used employees and vehicles from Dolton as part of a march to Springfield in 2022.
A federal grand jury has been conducting a criminal investigation into Henyard since November of last year.
In all, the FBI served a total of five subpoenas over a two-week period on Dolton and Thornton Township, where Henyard also serves as supervisor.
READ MORE HERE: Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard named in latest FBI subpoena, records requested
Lightfoot's investigation into Henyard
The backstory:
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was appointed by the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees to investigate Henyard in April of last year. She was tasked with launching a probe into Henyard's alleged mishandling of village funds, among other complaints.
Lightfoot has also been asked to investigate a Village of Dolton work trip to Las Vegas last year. A former employee accused Henyard of retaliation after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a village trustee during that trip and was then fired after speaking up.
Henyard originally vetoed calls for an investigation into herself, but that was overturned by trustees.
READ MORE: 'Put cuffs on you': Dolton meeting with Mayor Tiffany Henyard, Lori Lightfoot turns to chaos
Initial Findings:
Lightfoot presented initial findings from her investigation into the Village of Dolton’s "dire" financial situation in August of last year.
The bombshell report delved into the spending habits of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and her alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, highlighting just how much financial trouble the village is in.
Lightfoot stated that in April 2022, Dolton's general fund balance was $5.61 million. By May 2024, the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.
The presentation detailed credit card transactions amounting to thousands of dollars and Lightfoot said millions are owed to vendors.
Across the village's six credit cards that Lightfoot’s team is aware of, receipts for purchases are "rarely provided."
Lightfoot disclosed that village credit cards have been used to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair, and other retailers. Notably, one purchase on Amazon amounted to $33,005 on Jan. 5, 2023. That same day, two more purchases were made on the site – one for $4,715 and another for $5,609.92.
Another significant purchase noted in Lightfoot’s report was made on Sept. 1, 2023 – for $7,699.99 on Wayfair.com.
As of June 18, 2024, at least 589 checks amounting to over $6 million were approved and printed but never sent to vendors.
In another shocking revelation, the investigation found that two police officers received overtime pay exceeding their annual salaries. One officer's salary for fiscal year 2024 was $87,295, yet the officer received $114,800 in overtime pay. The second officer, with a salary of $73,515, received $102,077 in overtime pay for fiscal year 2024.
Final Report:
Lightfoot walked residents through a 73-page presentation, which showed that for years, there had been blatant disregard for the Village of Dolton’s Purchasing Policy.
"At least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public," Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot found that village trustees were intentionally kept in the dark when it came to spending.
"By March 2022, the trustees were effectively cut off from receiving regular financial reports," Lightfoot said.
What they're saying:
Lightfoot released the following statement about her final summary of findings and recommendations:
"We released the final summary of findings and recommendations on the investigation into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's financial management of the Village of Dolton’s revenues and expenses, as requested by the Village Trustees. The report details consistent mismanagement of Village finances through excessive spending on non-essential goods and services, systematic attempts by Mayor Henyard and others at her direction to hide the true financial condition of the Village from the Board of Trustees and the public, as well as other efforts to thwart efforts aimed at transparency as mandated under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). The report establishes the absence of competent governance and continued violations of governance norms during Mayor Henyard’s tenure. The costs to taxpayers have been significant, starting with a substantial budget deficit, higher costs for basic necessities like liability insurance, and many lawsuits against the Village directly related to allegations of misconduct by Henyard and others.
"Throughout our independent inquiry, we consistently encountered a mayor and administration that evaded transparency—skirting FOIA laws, failing to provide requested documents, and otherwise refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The report provides a detailed accounting of gross financial mismanagement, both at the Village level and at Thornton Township, during her tenure as Supervisor, including unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, failure to comply with reporting requirements, misuse of taxpayer dollars, and failure to pay vendors. We also uncovered Village liability insurers refused to provide coverage to Mayor Henyard, which potentially exposes the village to significant legal and financial risks.
"The details in this report are significant, and we are confident the majority of Trustees will continue to take the necessary steps to safeguard the Village. We thank them, along with the residents of Dolton, for placing their confidence in our team to conduct this investigation, provide truthful insight into the Village's financial standing, and offer recommendations to support their efforts toward improved governance."
What's next:
Early voting will continue until Election Day on Feb. 25.
The Source: Information from this article came from previous FOX 32 coverage, along with information from Lori Lightfoot's findings on her investigation into Henyard.