Chaos in the village of Dolton is impacting nearby communities where Mayor Tiffany Henyard also has a leadership role, and elected officials are speaking out about budgets, federal probes and financial records.
Henyard has dual roles as Dolton mayor and Thornton Township supervisor, and the mayor of Markham is questioning her decisions and her leadership.
“I am standing here with the full support of the government here, and I don’t see that happening in Thornton or Dolton … and that brings about mistrust about how things are being done,” said Mayor Roger Agpawa. “We have done our due diligence to try to work with the supervisor.”
Seventeen south suburban communities make up Thornton Township, which is also a taxing body, and the township is currently without a budget. It was supposed to be approved May 31 but was tabled.
“We don’t want taxation without good representation, and we don’t believe that is happening,” Agpawa said. “That budget needs to be looked into much deeper. They need to take a hard look at what is happening.”
Aldermen said they are being inundated with calls from taxpayers with concerns.
“I hear it every day — there is no transparency within our township,” Ald. Wanda McDowell said.
“When I receive these calls, I have to reassure them that we are OK on this end as far as good management with the city of Markham,” said Ald. Brenna Hampton-Houser.
Henyard is the center of a wide ranging federal investigation and a number of lawsuits.
Questions are also being raised about Henyard using taxpayer dollars for personal expenses, including her personal make-up artist.
An itemized payroll sheet for the township sent to NBC Chicago from May of last year lists Brandon Momon as an administrative assistant, but when we reached out to him, he told us he’s Henyard’s make-up artist.
“It is just once again a long series of things done incorrectly – or possibly illegally,” said Chris Gonzalez, a Thornton Township trustee.
We reached out to Henyard’s administration for comment but did not hear back.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday he is backing both the federal investigation and the investigation by Lori Lightfoot.