Controversial mayor defies board, says she 'cleaned up' town despite turning balance sheet red

More drama in Dolton.

Embattled "supermayor" Tiffany Henyard extended her ongoing feud with the Village of Dolton’s board of trustees Tuesday when she proceeded with a board meeting despite it being postponed by trustees, Fox 32 Chicago reports. 

Henyard, a Democrat, has been at loggerheads with the board for months in the wake of allegations of excessive spending and corruption, but declared at the meeting that her administration had "cleaned up" the suburban Illinois town despite a report that its budget had plunged into the red.

She also appointed new village staffers at the meeting, although the appointments are likely not valid.

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The trustees' decided to postpone Tuesday’s regular board meeting until Sept. 12 in order to address "several urgent matters," including finalizing the village budget, establishing a new bank account, and hiring a new auditor, a spokesperson for the trustees told Fox 32. 

But Henyard's attorney, Beau Brindley, argued the postponement violated Illinois law due to a lack of proper notice. He also said that he believes the board's actions are interfering with Henyard’s ability to perform her duties as mayor.

The mayor went ahead with the meeting even though she did not have a quorum as only two trustees were present, Andrew Holmes and Stanley Brown.

"As you can see, the Board of Trustees decided not to show up, nor did the clerk," Henyard said at the meeting which was attended by about 20 members of the public.

It’s the latest in a series of public spats between the mayor and the board. 

Henyard has vetoed the board's request to launch a federal investigation into her alleged misuse of funds and also vetoed their hiring of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has been tasked with leading a special investigation into the mayor.

In May, the board appointed a mayor pro tempore to serve in place of Henyard should she refuse to execute her duties.

Lightfoot’s investigation into the town’s financial situation revealed in a preliminary report that Dolton's general fund balance was $5.61 million in 2022, but by May 2024 the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.

Fox News Digital reached out to Henyard's office for comment regarding the figures, and for a statement as to why she proceeded with Tuesday's meeting, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Lightfoot also disclosed that Henyard used the village credit card to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair and other retailers. One jaw-dropping statement revealed that the embattled mayor had dropped $33,000 on Jan. 5, 2023, on Amazon. 

Despite the serious allegations being leveled against her, Henyard declared Tuesday that she has cleaned up the town.

"Research everybody, then you'll understand the fight, you’ll understand why things is the way it is, because when we took over, we came and cleaned up the Village of Dolton," Henyard said. 

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"What I mean by that is, when we got a complaint, I told them, please make sure you take care of the residents."

Henyard said she has "receipts" and told residents to stay tuned, announcing that she will soon be holding a State of the Village address.  

The mayor also appointed a new village attorney and a village administrator Tuesday – despite one already holding the latter role.

"She can't appoint one because Keith Freeman is still the village administrator," said Valeria Stubbs, a former village trustee, according to Fox 32. "All of that was illegal. Once she didn't have a quorum, the meeting should have been adjourned."

The clash over Tuesday’s meeting came on the same day Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a binding opinion that Dolton repeatedly violated the Open Meetings Act this summer.

He found that Henyard and the village board failed to make its June 3 and July 1 meetings "convenient and open to the public." He ordered Dolton to make all future meetings convenient and open to the public, including ensuring there is enough space and not closing streets or putting up parking barricades.

Henyard’s accusations of financial misdeeds have prompted an ongoing FBI investigation.

Furthermore, Lewis A. Lacey, the former deputy chief of police of Dolton and an ally of Henyard, was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury on bankruptcy fraud charges and is accused of concealing assets and income to avoid paying creditors and settling a lawsuit.

In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Henyard after six people had reportedly spoken to the agency about her alleged misconduct, including "business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials." 

In April, the FBI served two federal subpoenas as part of an investigation. Henyard was not served.

The first one was for employment records, personnel files and disciplinary reports for 25 Dolton employees, including three police officers and Keith Freeman, who is the village administrator and Henyard's top aide. Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud.

The second subpoena was served specifically on Freeman, asking for records of all companies associated with him and possible ties to the village.

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.