Dolton deputy police chief reports to work one day after village board places him on leave

DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) -- In the coming days, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will release a preliminary report in her independent investigation into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's spending.

The village board voted Monday night to place the Dolton's top cop on administrative leave only for him to defiantly return to work on Tuesday.

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The gray clouds over Dolton Village Hall Tuesday evening seemed fitting after Trustee Brittney Norwood described the financial woes that loom over Dolton, resulting in the board to vote Monday night to place Dolton Deputy Police Chief Lewis Lacey on administrative leave and lay off eight village employees.

"We are about $6 million in deficit," Norwood said.

But Tuesday morning, despite the vote, Lacey still reported to work. Norwood said the deputy chief claims the board had no authority to place him on leave.

"That is not true. So, we did vote on it and our vote is actually valid, at the moment. So, we were quite surprised when he showed up at work today," Norwood said. "We're waiting for the advice from our attorney to figure out our necessary steps, legally."

SEE ALSO | Dolton Trustee Jason House announces campaign for mayor in bid to unseat Tiffany Henyard

An embattled Henyard responded to that vote during yet another chaotic meeting Monday night amid multiple investigations, including a federal one into her spending of village funds.

"This is political retaliation," Henyard said.

Preliminary details in an independent probe lead by Lightfoot are expected to be released to the public Thursday.

Henyard has not returned ABC7's request for comment on Tuesday night.

ABC7 also reached out to Lacey, a Henyard ally, to respond to the board's vote and the possible litigation surrounding it but did not immediately hear back.