Tiffany Henyard controversy: Lightfoot will investigate Dolton mayor amid lawsuits, allegations

DOLTON, Ill. - Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has officially been appointed by the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees to investigate Mayor Tiffany Henyard.

The decision was made during a highly anticipated meeting on Monday night, which was held following the postponement of last week’s meeting.

Last Monday, dozens of community members were kept from attending the village board meeting due to space constraints. The meeting then erupted into chaos and ended prematurely when four trustees exited.

In the days that followed, those trustees moved to hire Lightfoot to investigate allegations against Henyard, who is facing multiple lawsuits.

The rescheduled board meeting, followed by a special meeting, was held in a larger room at the Lester L. Long Fieldhouse on Monday evening, where roughly 150 community members attended.

Mayor Henyard, along with two village trustees – Stanley Brown and Andrew Holmes – did not attend. In response, the trustees who were in attendance moved to make Trustee Jason House mayor pro tempore for the meeting.

"This board specifically has made reaches to the state’s attorney, attorney general, governor’s office, and as we know, there are ongoing, well, it’s been reported that there are ongoing investigations from federal entities. Those entities as we know can take anywhere from two months to five years," said House. "We feel this option will give us an independent process."

All four trustees who attended Monday’s meeting – House, Kiana Belcher, Tammy Brown, and Brittney Norwood – approved Lightfoot’s appointment.

Lightfoot will get to work right away, starting her new role as ‘special investigator’ for the Village of Dolton on Tuesday.

She will be launching a probe into Henyard's alleged mishandling of village funds, among other complaints.

"She has more authority to get what we're missing, to seal this deal and take our community back," said Belcher.    

On Monday, Belcher stated that the Village of Dolton is more than $7 million in debt.

Henyard, last month, vetoed calls for an investigation into herself, but that was overturned Monday night. 

Lightfoot has also been asked to investigate a Village of Dolton work trip to Las Vegas last year.

Recently, 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.

Earlier Monday, Michael del Galdo, who was previously hired by Henyard as the village's prosecutor, sent a letter to the legal team representing the trustees – stating that if Lightfoot is appointed as "additional legislative counsel," Henyard will "not be approving any payments to Lightfoot" – claiming her appointment would violate the law because the trustees already have an attorney.

Burt Odelson, one of the lawyers for the trustees, responded during the meeting Monday saying that to avoid another lawsuit, they wouldn't move to appoint Lightfoot as "additional legislative counsel" but rather as a "special investigator."

Lightfoot, who attended Monday’s meeting, issued the following statement after agreeing to investigate Henyard:

"I am honored that the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees has placed their confidence in me to conduct a thorough and timely independent investigation into the matters outlined in the resolution regarding Mayor Tiffany Henyard and her administration. As someone who has made good governance the cornerstone of my career in public service, I recognize that maintaining the trust of those you serve and making decisions in their best interests is essential. The residents of Dolton deserve nothing less than a government that is fully accountable, responsive, transparent, and effective stewards of taxpayer dollars. As a lawyer, former federal prosecutor, and mayor, I bring expertise in leading investigations of this kind and understand the complex challenges of governing. I will follow the facts where they lead, without bias, and reserve comments until the work is complete. At the conclusion of this investigation, I will provide an assessment of the findings and recommendations. I welcome and urge the full cooperation of Mayor Henyard, her staff, Village Trustees, vendors, and others who have information relevant to this inquiry."

The job comes with a paycheck for Lightfoot of $400 per hour. It will be capped at $30,000. The trustees say at that time they will check in and reassess her role.

FOX 32 Chicago reached out to Henyard and her team for comment on Monday but did not immediately hear back.