Lightfoot investigation found some Dolton police officers received staggering overtime pay
DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Among the findings former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out from her investigation into the village of Dolton's finances and Mayor Tiffany Henyard is a staggering amount of overtime pay for some officers.
The village hired Lightfoot to conduct an independent probe into Henyard's spending.
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Thursday night, she laid out in detail the findings from her four months of work.
The review of Dolton's finances from 2022-2024 found Dolton's general fund balance is now $3.65 million in debt, depleted from a flush fund of more than $5.6 million in April 2022, around the time Henyard took office.
SEE ALSO: Dolton Village Board places top cop on administrative leave, lays off 8 village employees
Expenses are up nearly 30%, including administration and administration compensation, which are up 47%.
One item highlighted was overtime for former Acting Police Chief Lacey, which totaled over $215,000 from 2022 to 2024.
Cash on hand, Lightfoot said, is nonexistent, and Dolton's unpaid bills under Henyard's administration are piling up.
"Since March of 2023 the village has been unable to pay all its monthly expenditures," Lightfoot said. "As of June 18, 2024, there are 589 check totaling over $6 million that have been approved, printed, but not transmitted to vendors."
As the bank account balance plummeted, the village's credit card spending on six different cards soared last year. There were nine different domestic trips, including one to Las Vegas that's now part of multiple investigations; more than $43,000 in Amazon charges in one day; $8,000 on purchases from Wayfair, and more than $2,000 at Best Buy.
Four months into the fiscal year the village still has no budget.
"We kinda knew it was bad because we had emails about vendors calling and emailing us, but to see those numbers, it was just like somebody punching you in your stomach," said Dolton Board Trustee Kiana Belcher.
Mayor Henyard, who took office in May 2021, was not at the Thursday night meeting and declined an interview Friday. But her attorney said she has no intention of resigning, and she did not know about expenses like the Amazon purchases or the police chief's hefty overtime.
"It's being masqueraded as if it was the mayor's," Henyard's attorney Beau Brindley said. "The decision, as if she is the one deciding which charges are going to be placed. She doesn't find out abou these expenses until after the fact, if at all."
The state comptroller's office said Dolton has not reported an audit since 2021, though one was due in 2022.
Lightfoot said she is still gathering information and interviewing people, and this was only a preliminary report.
