'Worst mayor in America': Dolton meeting with Tiffany Henyard turns to chaos

DOLTON - A village meeting in Dolton descended into chaos as residents pounded on doors to get in and four trustees walked out abruptly on Monday night.

The village board had expected to address Mayor Tiffany Henyard's veto of an investigation into herself. However, the meeting never got to that point.

Last month, Mayor Henyard vetoed a resolution passed by the village board that was seeking to probe her spending. The resolution, unanimously supported by the four-trustee majority, aimed to examine Henyard's purported misuse of funds, demanding her to submit the village's financial records and calling for an FBI investigation.

"The grown-up thing would be for her to just resign, just get out of here, leave town. But she's not going to do that. You have disgraced this entire village and also disrespected each and every one of us," Tammy Brown, a Dolton Trustee, said on March 4th.

Henyard assumed office as mayor in 2021, and allegations of corruption during her tenure as mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor have been under scrutiny by FOX 32 for at least two of the three years.

At Monday's meeting, more than 100 residents showed up but only about 40 were let inside. Crowds protested outside the meeting, chanting, "Let us in!"

"She's scary," one concerned resident told FOX 32.

"Why can't we have transparency with what's going on with our tax dollars?" another questioned, as several residents called on Mayor Henyard to resign.

The meeting also took place amid a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against Henyard. A former employee says she was sexually assaulted during a work trip in Las Vegas last year. When she spoke up about the claim, she says she was retaliated against and later fired.

"You know what happened in Vegas. You know what happened. And you should be addressing it," one resident said at the meeting.

"They say that you're the worst mayor in America. I agree," another resident added.

The meeting ended abruptly due to what the acting police chief said were credible threats they received.

"This has been a stain on our community," Kiana Belcher, a Dolton Trustee, said last month.

Mayor Henyard has objected to what she referred to as attacks on her character.

"As you can see, our village, our community, myself, we are under attack. It's a shame that people can come to meetings and just tell one side of the stories and not get the entire side of both stories," Henyard remarked.

Dolton residents have expressed support for the village board and their call for an investigation into the mayor.

"This has to stop. She cannot continue to intimidate and gangster her way through this," voiced one individual.

"We are not giving up and we refuse to let Tahoe Tiffany take our community," added another.

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FOX 32 has confirmed that the FBI is questioning individuals as part of an investigation into Mayor Henyard.

Last month, FOX 32 reached out to the mayor for comment, and the village administrator released the following statement:

"This is just another example of a few trustees in the Village of Dolton spreading lies and false allegations. These are the same trustees that cut the public safety budget by 3.8 million dollars, eliminated the bond for garbage removal and have charged over 5 million dollars in frivolous lawsuits that the Dolton taxpayers are stuck with the tab. The residents deserve better than this circus."