Tiffany Henyard was elected as Mayor of Dolton in April of 2021. In just 2 and a half years, she has turned Dolton upside down and displayed a stunning lack of dedication to the residents. Her tenure has been marked by wasteful spending and personal graft bordering on criminality, bizarre displays at city council meetings and a stunning lack of maturity. Henyard appears more interested in becoming a social media influencer than providing any measure of government service.
Destroying The Budget
Just last week, the village trustees convened a special meeting in effort to pass a realistic budget. The one advanced by Henyard represented an increase of 5% over the prior year. In a Tribune report, “The numbers are fictitious, inflated, not realistic,” Trustee Belcher said (1). In that same report, trustees maintain the budget was rife with expenditures and contracts they did not approve. Shortly after taking office, Henyard fostered a hostile attitude toward the board, who has the responsibility to watch spending on behalf of the taxpaying residents. Henyard has actively worked to prevent them from providing oversight. As taxes go up as a result of Henyard’s mismanagement, city obligations remain unpaid.
Towering Wasteful Spending
Since day one of Henyard’s mayorship, shocking waste has marked her tenure.
– Henyard led a march from Dolton to Springfield that was a marketed as an effort to support a breast cancer bill. The Illinois General Assembly was however not in session, no legislators were present and the bill was never officially filed. During the March, participants stayed in expensive hotels, ate at pricey restaurants, a videographer was hired as was a mobile DJ and security. The residents were billed for the expensive boondoggle.
– Henyard filed paperwork claiming to have created a foundation and on the same day, she got the township board to approve handing over $10,000 to it. This is the same foundation that was involved in the march and is named the “Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation.”
– Henyard billed the township for $17,000 to cover the cost t-shirts and hoodies associated with her “non-profit.” The insignia on the clothing items is reported to have her name emblazoned over the township logo.(2)
– Shortly after taking office, Henyard assembled a security detail which has taken officers from the police department. She hand picked those officers herself. The security team picks her up in the morning, runs errands for her such as fetching lunch, surrounds her all day long and drops her off at home. Officers are paid over time and bills to the city claiming 336 hours per officer for a two week period are not uncommon. Henyard even takes the security team with her when she travels out of town. The security detail costs the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. According to a report, the trustees never approved of the security detail.(3) According to Trustee Jason House, “If we were to take the same money and put it on officers patrolling the streets, then the residents will see a much better presence and public safety will be better.” It is projected that over her term, her security expenses will cost the tax payers over a million dollars.
Bizarre Displays At City Council
In one of her most immature episodes, Henyard made a mockery of responsible government by mimicking the character Nino Brown from the movie New Jack City at a city council meeting. She arrived wearing black leather and carrying a stuffed toy dog. Tiffany also had a DJ to punctuate her political points with loud musical blasts featuring excerpts from songs such as Rihanna’s hit single “B—- Better Have My Money.” In the meeting, Henyard was demanding the council provide tens of thousands of dollars for an ice skating rink. She also shouted, “every single resident pay me what you owe me.”
Her Bloated Salary
Tiffany Henyard makes over $250,000 per year between her salary as mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor. That figure does not include the perks she receives such as security, meals, drivers, foundation money, etc.
It’s All About Her
Henyard’s smiling face is plastered all over town. In a manner reminiscent of Mao Tse Tung, huge wall hangings are fixed to building exteriors which feature her smiling face along with statements such as “Tiffany Delivers.” Employees on government time crank out social media graphics every day which impose her image on announcements of city events and proceedings. Public resources are not permitted to be used for political campaigning yet this goes on day after day. In perhaps her most tasteless effort yet, Henyard featured her smiling face on a graphic emploring people to remember those who died on 9/11.
Henyard Needs To Go!
In the interest of good government and the needs of Dolton residents who pay her salary and voluminous expenses, Tiffany Henyard needs to be removed from office. She calls herself the “Super Mayor.” Instead, Henyard has made a mockery of government service and exploited the residents at a time when people are struggling, crime is increasing and the city infrastructure crumbles. If Henyard had any honor and dignity, she would resign from office and clear out her desk by the end of the day.
According to reports, she is under investigation for potential criminal exposure stemming from her misuse of public funds and flaunting legally required disclosure. Investigations do however take a lot of time.
One way to remove her is at the ballot box. Henyard has shown in Jupiter sized proportions just how manifestly unqualified she is. The people can give her a much needed pink slip in the next election. Hopefully the people of Dolton will do exactly that. They deserve better.
References:
1. Chicago Tribune