by Megan Palin and Aneeta Bhole
The Illinois village of Dolton has voted in favor of a resolution to hire ex-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate its own leader, Tiffany Henyard, who is accused of misusing taxpayer funds and various other corrupt practices.
Lightfoot, who lost her reelection bid in a landslide last year, said she was “honored” to be tasked with the investigation of Henyard — Dolton’s self-proclaimed “Super Mayor.”
“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,” Lightfoot said in a statement on Monday evening.
“The residents of Dolton deserve nothing less than a government that is fully accountable, responsive, transparent, and effective stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
Lightfoot said her experience leading Chicago would help provide findings and recommendations “without bias.”
Dolton’s village board voted to hire Lightfoot on Monday night in an unofficial meeting being held at an offsite park district facility rather than the Dolton Village Hall.
Lightfoot will be tasked with providing periodic updates to the board on the investigation into Henyard’s alleged misconduct and lavish spending, providing a comprehensive report at its conclusion.
She will reportedly be retained for $400 per hour, according to Fox 32.
Lightfoot, previously an attorney with the powerful Chicago law firm of Mayer Brown, a federal prosecutor and Chicago’s first Black female and openly gay mayor, lost her bid for a second term last year.
Monday night’s vote at a special meeting came after four Dolton Board of Trustees members proposed hiring Lightfoot as additional legislative counsel to probe Henyard.
The investigation stems from a series of events surrounding a tax-funded “economic development” trip to Las Vegas in May 2023.
There was allegedly “a total failure to report anything relative to potential economic development, or any other events that took place in Las Vegas, to the Board of Trustees” upon Henyard’s return, according to the board.
The Village Board says it wants a thorough investigation into the trip, including all expenditures, allegations of misconduct and internal investigations.
Henyard is also facing allegations she misspent federal COVID-19 relief funds, hired contractors without seeking proper bids, overpaid vendors without approval from the board, and accepted large campaign contributions from vendors chosen by the mayor.
The resolution also states the board later learned of “serious sexual assault allegations” made by an unnamed former Dolton employee against a board trustee while in Las Vegas, and that Henyard and others in her administration “have gone to great lengths to cover-up and hide the alleged sexual misconduct and reporting of the sexual misconduct.”
“Us figuring out what happened in Vegas is extremely important for the residents,” Dolton Board of Trustee member Brittney Norwood told The Post.
Henyard’s constituents have also complained about the ostentatious mayor’s massive billboards bearing her face across town and the “militarization” of local police against her political opponents.
The board has accused her of covering up personal expenses she paid for using village money.
Henyard’s administration has denied the board’s numerous requests over the past year for financial documents, leaving them in the dark about the state of Dolton’s finances.
Last month, Henyard vetoed a resolution passed unanimously by the village board to open the probe, calling on her to submit the village’s financial records.
The FBI is also reportedly investigating Henyard’s alleged misuse of taxpayer money, including the hundreds of thousands of dollars the village paid in police overtime allegdly for Henyard’s personal security detail and accusations she held up licenses to certain businesses.
Henyard has repeatedly refused to step down.