The Village of Dolton, located in Illinois, has been making national headlines due to the controversy surrounding its monthly town hall meeting.
The meeting has once again erupted in fiery confrontations between the residents and the village’s mayor, Tiffany Henyard. The mayor has been facing accusations of various wrongdoings such as using the local police force for retaliatory business raids and misusing taxpayer money for personal luxuries, including trips to Las Vegas. The board had even passed a resolution last month to investigate Henyard’s spending, but she vetoed it and refused any further investigation.
According to reports, the FBI has already begun an investigation into Henyard’s alleged misuse of funds, but the board’s resolution aimed to push for a deeper probe. However, tensions only seemed to escalate at this month’s town hall meeting, as the mayor ramped up security measures, causing many residents to be left outside. Despite the strict security checks, numerous residents made it inside and used the opportunity to raise their voices against the mayor and air their grievances.
One resident, who appeared to be battling cancer, grabbed the microphone and directly addressed Mayor Henyard, accusing her of stealing money from a cancer foundation. The woman had reportedly helped the mayor during her campaign but was now questioning her actions and demanding reimbursement for the wigs she had to buy due to her cancer treatment. This may be in reference to the controversial “Tiffany Henyard CARES Foundation” which has been accused of lacking transparency in its financial reports and is now under the scrutiny of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Another woman, Cara Wilson, who has sued the Dolton police department over the shooting of her daughter, also confronted the mayor, calling her actions disgraceful and pointing out her previous criminal record as a form of protest.
Wilson accused Henyard of refusing to look her in the eye and claimed that the mayor did not seem to care about her daughter’s case. She even went on to say that she would not trust Henyard even if she stood on a stack of Bibles and had her tongue notarized.
A resident called for Henyard’s resignation, stating that the mayor had disgraced the village of Dolton. The resident demanded answers regarding the alleged sexual assault and retaliation scandal that occurred during the mayor’s trip to Las Vegas, where the alleged victim was fired after speaking out. Another resident also demanded transparency and urged the mayor to address the situation and the misuse of funds by various officials in the village.
In her response, Mayor Henyard chose to focus her attention on the media, accusing them of using the town’s political feuds as clickbait to generate revenues. However, before the meeting was shut down for safety reasons, the Dolton Police Chief, Lewis Lacey, had expressed his willingness to speak to the media about the situation.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Henyard’s office for a comment, and a spokesperson responded by stating that due to the overwhelming amount of threats and misinformation spread by the media and internet bloggers, the village has implemented stricter security measures to protect the safety of their staff and residents. The spokesperson also mentioned that they were working closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation.
