DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Despite a lack of subpoena power and cooperation from village workers, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her investigation uncovered a pattern of mismanagement and deception by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
"There was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public," said Lightfoot, now a senior consultant with Charles River Associates.
Lightfoot, a former prosecutor, delivered her findings to Dolton residents who are weary, but angry on Monday evening.
"It's saddening that all this has been going on, and no one stepped in to stop it," said Dolton resident Valerie Williams.
Dolton trustees hired Lightfoot last April to probe Henyard's alleged misuse of public dollars. Henyard did not attend Monday's presentation.
Lightfoot has found travel expenses, including for nine domestic trips taken by Henyard and other village officials. One of those trips to Las Vegas is the subject of a lawsuit alleging sexual assault and claims of retaliation.
Lightfoot has also found soaring expenditures in 2023 on at least half a dozen village credit cards, including more than $43,000 in Amazon purchases in a single day and thousands of dollars spent at Wayfair and Best Buy.
On Monday, Lightfoot said those Amazon purchases, which she first told the public about last summer, were for ice rink supplies that were delivered to the village.
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"There's no inventory control system within the village, so we have no idea what happened once the things arrived," Lightfoot said.
Residents and multiple trustees at Monday's meeting said an ice rink on Greenwood Road was completed in 2023, but that the public has no regular access to it.
"We don't have any staff to operate it. We couldn't afford staff even if we wanted to operate it, and it's inoperable," said Dolton Trustee Brittney Norwood. "And we were wondering how the ice skating rink was getting paid for, but she would say, 'Oh, we're using grants. We're using grants.'"
Lightfoot alleged a pattern of circumventing city policies, including a failure to gain trustee approval for purchases over $5,000, failure to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests and a lack of a staff accountant.
And Lightfoot said the village has struggled to maintain its insurance policies because of late or non-payments.
"The insurance carriers refuse to cover Mayor Henyard," Lightfoot said.
An attorney for Henyard acknowledged ABC7's request for comment, but has not issued a statement.
Henyard is seeking re-election as mayor of Dolton. The meeting comes about a month before the primary election.
"Today, we released the final summary of findings and recommendations on the investigation into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's financial management of the Village of Dolton's revenues and expenses, as requested by the Village Trustees. The report details consistent mismanagement of Village finances through excessive spending on non-essential goods and services, systematic attempts by Mayor Henyard and others at her direction to hide the true financial condition of the Village from the Board of Trustees and the public, as well as other efforts to thwart efforts aimed at transparency as mandated under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). The report establishes the absence of competent governance and continued violations of governance norms during Mayor Henyard's tenure. The costs to taxpayers have been significant, starting with a substantial budget deficit, higher costs for basic necessities like liability insurance, and many lawsuits against the Village directly related to allegations of misconduct by Henyard and others.
"Throughout our independent inquiry, we consistently encountered a mayor and administration that evaded transparency-skirting FOIA laws, failing to provide requested documents, and otherwise refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The report provides a detailed accounting of gross financial mismanagement, both at the Village level and at Thornton Township, during her tenure as Supervisor, including unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, failure to comply with reporting requirements, misuse of taxpayer dollars, and failure to pay vendors. We also uncovered Village liability insurers refused to provide coverage to Mayor Henyard, which potentially exposes the village to significant legal and financial risks.
"The details in this report are significant, and we are confident the majority of Trustees will continue to take the necessary steps to safeguard the Village. We thank them, along with the residents of Dolton, for placing their confidence in our team to conduct this investigation, provide truthful insight into the Village's financial standing, and offer recommendations to support their efforts toward improved governance."