Democrat Tiffany Henyard, the first woman ever to hold the position of mayor of Dolton, Illinois, is being scrutinized for allegedly closing down companies that refuse to give money to her campaign.
Businesses in the area have reportedly accused the mayor and local law enforcement of singling them out and closing their doors because they did not financially back her.
According to Lawrence Gardner (57), Henyard coerced him into closing his shop after he refused to give $3,500 to her campaign again. He said that he had already paid and had an issue when she came around the following year and insisted on the same thing. According to Gardner, his unwillingness to pay out additional cash led to the termination of his company license and false accusations of selling alcohol.
In the past few weeks, Henyard has been under fire for a variety of misdeeds, including allegations that she spent thousands of dollars in public monies on extravagant vacations and meals, that she turned police officers into her bodyguards and dancers in her music videos, and that she hired DJs to play at town meetings, all while the village racked up a $5 million debt.
According to Riley Rogers, the former mayor of Dolton who was unsuccessful in the 2021 bid against Henyard, the expenditure is the real worry, not the attitude. There is a debt of almost $6 million owed by the community.
As reported by statewide media earlier this month, the village’s thirteen vehicles, including the police cars, were threatened with repossession by a bank due to the village’s extreme financial woes. The payment was not made until the threat came.
The citizens grumbled about the increased militarization of the police department against her political opponents and the grandiose billboards showing her face throughout town. The erratic self-described “super mayor” was likened to a South American tyrant.
One woman compared the multiple overbearing Henyard billboards to living in Venezuela under dictator President Maduro.
Claims of wrongdoing and abuse of office allegedly have the FBI investigating the matter. There has been a lot of backlash against the mayor’s behavior and demands for an inquiry.
