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Tiffany Aiesha Henyard[1] (born June 18,1983) is an American politician. Henyard served as mayor of Dolton,Illinois from 2021 to 2025 and as supervisor of Thornton Township,Illinois from 2022 to 2025.[2] She previously served two terms as a member of the Dolton Village Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2021. Henyard was elected trustee in 2013 and 2017,and elected mayor in 2021. She was appointed township supervisor in 2022.[3]
During her tenure as mayor and supervisor,Henyard was the subject of multiple investigations and legal proceedings concerning the management of public funds and official conduct.[4][5][6][7] In 2024,the Illinois Attorney General ordered a charitable organization associated with her to cease soliciting donations.[8] The Federal Bureau of Investigation also conducted inquiries and issued subpoenas related to village operations.[5] As of 2024,Henyard was under civil investigation by the Illinois Department of Human Rights and was named as a defendant in several lawsuits.[9][10] She ran for reelection as mayor in 2025 and was defeated in the Democratic primary by trustee Jason House.
In 2011,Henyard began her involvement in government and politics by working on then-Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s "Put Illinois to Work" initiative.[15] She has called Dorothy Brown and Frank Zuccarelli two of her mentors.[15][16]
Henyard founded a restaurant business called Good Burger in Calumet City,Illinois. The business later closed before opening a new location on the campus of South Suburban College in South Holland,Illinois in 2024.[11][17] The restaurant was the subject of complaints regarding sanitary conditions and permit compliance,and records indicated that the company was delinquent on rent payments. The business was involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State in 2022.[18]
Dolton village trustee (2013–2021)
Henyard served as a village trustee in Dolton,[19] first elected in the 2013 plurality-at-large election and re-elected in 2017.[20][21] Supporters referred to her as the "People’s Trustee".[22] During her tenure,she was a frequent critic of then-Mayor Riley Rogers.[23]
In 2018,Henyard was one of two trustees who voted against overturning Rogers's veto of the city’s budget appropriation for the 2018–2019 fiscal year. The board overrode the veto in a 4–2 vote,after which ten village employees were laid off.[24] That year,Henyard joined other trustees in an unsuccessful legal effort to prevent ballot measures supported by Rogers from appearing on the ballot. The measures,which proposed reducing the size of the board of trustees and imposing term limits,were later rejected by voters.[25][26]
As trustee,Henyard started the village's Block by Block program,which allowed individuals to purchase vacant houses for $5,000 in an effort to restore properties to the tax rolls.[22]
In August 2019,WBBM-TV reported that a property owned by Henyard and rented under the Section 8 housing program had severe mold and water leakage issues. Later that year,the station reported that the property had been deemed uninhabitable and the tenant was forced to relocate,while Henyard continued to receive housing subsidies for the property.[27][28] The tenant alleged that Henyard failed to address the mold issue,and the reports prompted further scrutiny of the property’s inspection record.[29]
2021 mayoral campaign
In 2020,Henyard announced her candidacy for mayor of Dolton in the 2021 municipal election.[12] Her campaign focused on criticism of incumbent mayor Riley Rogers’s administration.[23] Henyard won the DemocraticParty primary,defeating Rogers in a four-way contest,[20] and subsequently defeated independent candidate Ronnie Burge in the general election with approximately 82 percent of the vote.[30]
Henyard campaigned with a slate of candidates referred to as the Dream Team. From this group,trustee candidates Kiana Belcher and incumbent Jason House were elected,along with village clerk candidate Alison Key.[20][31] Relations between Henyard and these officials later deteriorated,[32] and by 2022,they joined other members of the village board in legal actions involving Henyard.[33][34]
Mayoral tenure (2021–2025)
Henyard was sworn in as mayor of Dolton in May 2021,becoming the first woman and,at age 37,the youngest person to hold the office.[35]
Governance conflicts
Within the first months of her administration,Henyard faced criticism from members of the village board regarding government transparency and the use of municipal funds.[36][37][38][39] In 2021,the board filed a lawsuit alleging conflicts of interest and later voted to censure her.[40] Henyard accused certain trustees of disrupting village operations,[19] and in response to disputes over governance,she restricted access to trustee offices and canceled meetings. Trustees subsequently held meetings without her participation.[37][41]
In October 2021,the board voted to require that hiring and firing decisions be made with its advice and consent;[41] trustees later alleged that Henyard continued to make staffing changes unilaterally.[42] That year,protests followed a fatal shooting by a police officer in Dolton,during which Henyard was criticized by demonstrators.[43][44]
Administrative actions
During her tenure,Henyard appointed and later dismissed several department officials,including police chief Robert Collins,whom she rehired upon taking office and fired in 2023.[35][45] In 2024,Collins filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that his removal was without cause and without board approval,and that it had been motivated as retribution for the mayor's perception of his wife and a number of his personal acquaintances as being political adversaries.[46]
By 2022,Henyard faced allegations of spending village funds without proper approval from the board of trustees or the village clerk.[42][49] Trustees and Henyard argued at council meetings over city spending.[50]
The board of trustees frequently challenged Henyard’s spending decisions. Trustees reported that by early 2024,Dolton had accumulated approximately $7 million in debt and warned that the village was at risk of financial insolvency.[51][52] Disputes continued over budget allocations,and in February 2024,the board overrode Henyard’s veto of the 2024–25 fiscal year budget,which included spending reductions.[53] Henyard contended that the cuts would bankrupt the village.[54]
Security detail
In 2023 and 2024,multiple news outlets reported on Henyard’s use of a police security detail,estimating that it had cost the village approximately hundreds of thousands to $1 million.[55][56][57] Trustees argued that diverting police resources for this purpose negatively affected public safety,and in 2021 had voted to attempt to require her to pay the city back for her police protection.[39][41]
Legal issues
Multiple investigations and legal actions were initiated during Henyard’s term. In early 2024,the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed witnesses and served subpoenas at Dolton Village Hall as part of an inquiry into village finances and administration.[52][58][59] By April 2024,the village was listed as a defendant in nearly 40 active lawsuits.[60] That month,the board hired Lori Lightfoot to review Henyard’s management of public funds.[61] Lightfoot’s report,released in January 2025,concluded that Henyard engaged in excessive spending,withheld financial information,and failed to maintain transparency.[14]
In March 2024,WMAQ-TV reported that the Illinois Department of Human Rights was investigating claims by Henyard’s former assistant,who alleged that Henyard retaliated against her after she reported being sexually assaulted by a village trustee.[62] Henyard denied the allegations,describing them as being made by disgruntled employees.[63]
In 2024,Redeemed Christian Church of God Resurrection Power Assembly filed a lawsuit against Henyard and the village,alleging discrimination and improper application of zoning codes when the village prevented the church from renovating a building it had acquired.[64][65] That same year,Samysha Williams,a 2023 Dolton village trustee candidate,filed a lawsuit accusing Henyard and her campaign of defamation and wrongful termination from her job at the village while taking family leave in 2022.[66]
Henyard's administration also faced financial disputes with vendors and creditors. In February 2024,KS State Bank warned the village that 13 Dolton police department vehicles were subject to repossession over unpaid balances.[67] Trustees stated that payment authorization had been granted months earlier,while Henyard contended the board had withheld approval.[68]
Extortion allegations
Dolton residents,government employees,and business owners have alleged that Henyard used her position to retaliate against perceived political opponents,including claims that she directed Dolton police to target businesses whose owners did not support her and to solicit campaign contributions.[19][56][69][70] She has also been accused of dismissing several village employees for political reasons.[69][71]
Recall attempt and aftermath
In 2022,the Dolton Village Board attempted to initiate a recall election,placing two referendum questions on the ballot—one to establish a recall mechanism[a] and another to remove Henyard from office.[b] Both measures were approved by a majority of voters.[73] Subsequent court rulings determined that the referendums were invalid,and a permanent injunction prevented certification of the results.[74][72]
In February 2024,the board adopted a resolution requesting investigations by county,state,and federal authorities. Henyard vetoed the resolution and the board overrode her veto in April.[75][76]
2025 municipal election
Henyard sought reelection in 2025 but was defeated in the Democratic primary on February 25,2025,by trustee Jason House,who received approximately 88 percent of the vote to Henyard’s 12 percent.[77]
Thornton Township Supervisor (2022–2025)
Appointment
On March 3,2022,Henyard was appointed and sworn in as supervisor of Thornton Township,Illinois,following the death of incumbent Frank Zuccarelli. The appointment was made by the Thornton Township Board in a vote held shortly before the legal deadline for filling the vacancy,after which the decision would have been made by township electors in a public meeting.[13][78] Henyard was the last of nine nominees considered for the position.[78] She became the youngest person,the first woman,and the first African American to serve as supervisor of Thornton Township.[40]
Finances
In 2023,Henyard stated that she had inherited financial difficulties in the township,alleging that the payroll included "ghost employees" who did little work and that the township faced a $5 million budget deficit,which she said she resolved.[79]
Henyard continued the Zuccarelli Assistance Program,which employs teenagers aged 16 and older to mow lawns for senior citizens,renaming it the Henyard Assistance Program.[80][81]
In February 2024,the township board,with Henyard’s support,allocated $1 million for rental and mortgage assistance through the general assistance department. The program provided up to $3,000 to individuals at least two months behind on payments but excluded those already in eviction proceedings. The funding sources for the initiative were not specified.[82]
Referendums
In April 2023 and March 2024,voters in Thornton Township considered referendums proposing a 0.15% property tax to fund mental health services,estimated to generate $3 million annually.[83][84] The measure was defeated both times,first by a 51% to 49% margin in 2023 and later by a larger margin in 2024.[84][85]
Before the second vote,mayors from 11 of the township’s 17 municipalities co-signed an open letter opposing the proposal,citing insufficient information about how the funds would be used.[83][86]
Salary and governance
Henyard’s annual salary as supervisor was $224,000,the same as her predecessor’s since 2017. In December 2023,the township adopted a resolution,supported by Henyard,to reduce the supervisor’s salary by 90% for future officeholders,setting it at $22,400 per year.[87] The reduction would take effect only after Henyard’s tenure ended. Similar provisions were approved for township trustees.[88]
Municipal attorney Burt Odelson,a political opponent of Henyard,criticized the resolution as unlawful,arguing that salaries must not vary based on the officeholder’s identity.[89]
Controversies and legal issues
In August 2023,Henyard was accused of locking the township assessor,who was a political rival,out of the assessor’s office.[90][91]
In 2024,a former township employee filed a lawsuit against Henyard and the township,alleging retaliation for refusing to compile "dirt" on other employees and for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The complaint alleged that the employee was denied access to the township building and later terminated after complaining about six weeks of pay she had not received.[71]
Defeat
Henyard sought the Democratic Party nomination for township supervisor in the 2025 election. Thornton Township Democrats held a caucus in which State Senator Napoleon Harris defeated Henyard for the nomination.[93]
Tiffany Henyard CARES
Tiffany Henyard founded Tiffany Henyard CARES,[94] a nonprofit organization with a stated mission to assist individuals with cancer.[38] The organization received promotion on official government websites and social media accounts associated with Henyard’s public offices.[95] Several officers of the organization also held positions within the city government.[96]
In May 2023,WFLD reported that public funds were spent on an organizational group bicycle ride to the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield,Illinois in support of a breast cancer–related bill. The report noted that the state legislature was not in session at the time and that the referenced bill had not been formally filed.[96]
In January 2024,WGN-TV reported that the township spent $10,248 on hotel accommodations located along the route of a 2022 protest sponsored by the nonprofit,which traveled between Dolton and Springfield. The same report stated that township trustees had,on multiple occasions,been asked to approve large funding allocations to the charity.[95]
In January 2024,it was reported that Tiffany Henyard CARES had not submitted the required annual financial reports mandated for charitable and nonprofit organizations. After the nonprofit did not meet the February 16 filing deadline,the Illinois Attorney General’s Office ordered the organization to cease soliciting donations and warned that it might seek to recover payments made to its board members and staff.[95][97] The Attorney General’s Office also noted that the nonprofit was not in good standing and was not registered with the state.[94]
In March 2024,a representative of the organization submitted an incomplete filing to the Attorney General’s Office,which lacked key financial documentation. The filing indicated that nearly all of the nonprofit’s funding originated from township and village taxpayer sources.[98]
By March 2024,Mayor Henyard sought to distance herself from the organization.[99][100]
↑ The text of the question read as "Shall the following recall mechanism be adopted and effective immediately, upon certification by the County Clerk, for the Village of Dolton?: Recall of the Village President (Mayor) Recall of the Village President (Mayor) of the Village of Dolton is established, applicable to, and effective as of the certification of results of the June 28, 2022 General Primary Election. 'Recall' shall mean the power of the electorate of the Village of Dolton to remove the Village President (Mayor) from office, and to immediately create a vacancy in the office of the Village President (Mayor) to be filled in the manner provided by law for filling such vacancy, by a majority vote of those voting on a question of whether to recall and remove the Village President (Mayor) of the Village of Dolton at a regularly scheduled election. Said question of whether to recall and remove the Village President (Mayor) of the Village of Dolton may be submitted either by resolution of the Dolton Corporate Authorities or by petition in the manner prescribed by law for the submission of public questions."[72]
↑ The text of the question read as "If the recall mechanism is passed by a majority of voters at the June 28, 2022 General Primary Election, shall Tiffany A. Henyard be recalled and removed from the office of Village President (Mayor) of the Village of Dolton, effective upon certification of the election results by the Cook County Clerk?"[72]
↑ "Combined Summary"(PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. June 28, 2022. pp.58–59. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
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