A small-town Illinois mayor vetoed calls for an FBI investigation into her handling of town finances on Monday, including the disappearance of millions of dollars.
The Dolton Board of Trustees voted last month to call for the FBI to open an investigation into Mayor Tiffany Henyard. The U.S. attorney, Cook County sheriff, and Cook County state’s attorney also support the investigation. The FBI has begun interviewing dozens of people related to the investigation into Henyard despite her veto.
“I always stay the course, and I will be victorious when all the dust clears,” Henyard said during Monday night’s town meeting, according to the Daily Mail.
Henyard has a reputation for spending more money on travel, security, and a hair and makeup team than she brings in as the mayor of the small Chicago suburb. Henyard receives an annual salary of $300,000 for her job as mayor.
The mayor blamed the town’s financial struggles on the board of trustees, which she claimed is “incompetent” and uneducated about municipal government. Henyard has admitted the town has a $2 million deficit, but some people believe the real number could be as high as $5 million.
One of Henyard’s biggest expenses has been her travel. She and other town officials have spent more than $67,000 of public money on trips to major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, New York City, and Portland. Some of the trips included first-class travel, and one trip to New York City cost $13,000 of taxpayer money.
The Illinois mayor has already survived a recall attempt to remove her that was overturned on a technicality and now faces a lawsuit from the trustees. However, no criminal charge has been brought against her.
Henyard has also been accused of unlawfully signing new contracts while dozens of previous contractors remain unpaid.
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“When I say we are here to save Dolton, I mean that,” Dolton trustee Brittney Norwood said. “We cannot survive like this. We have vendors calling us every day for nonpayment.”
Henyard’s charity, “Tiffany Henyard Cares,” has already been closed down after she allegedly used taxpayer money and government employees to run it.
