OAN’s James Meyers
8:49 AM -Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been tasked with investigating Dolton, Illinois’, Mayor Tiffany Henyard, who is accused of misusing taxpayer funds and other corruption while in her current position.
Lightfoot, who lost her re-election bid last year, claims she only lost because she was “a Black woman in America.” She has now been hired at a rate of $400 per hour in order to investigate the controversial mayor.
“Lightfoot’s to-do list is long, including finding millions in Dolton’s unpaid bills and a lavish village-funded trip to Las Vegas for Henyard, a few trustees and village employees last year,” ABC7 Chicago reported.
Lightfoot should investigate “all allegations of misconduct, and all internal investigations, if any, along with any village state and federal law violations,” Dolton Trustee Jason House stated.
“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 Monday evening.
“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.”
Dolton’s village board voted to hire Lightfoot on Monday night in an unofficial meeting being held at an offsite park district facility.
Monday night’s vote comes after four Dolton Board of Trustees members proposed hiring Lightfoot as an additional legislative counsel to probe Henyard. The investigation was prompted after events that began from 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 mayor of Dolton is also facing allegations that she misspent federal COVID-19 relief funds, hired contractors without following proper protocol, overpaid vendors without getting approval from the board, and accepted campaign contributions from vendors specifically chosen by Henyard.
Additionally, the investigation also states that the board later learned that “serious sexual assault allegations” were brought to light 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.”
Meanwhile, Heynard earns $300,000 a year for her mayoral duties and has admitted that the city is currently in a $2 million deficit.
After multiple calls for her to resign, Henyard has repeatedly refused to step down.
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