A controversial Chicago-area mayor and township supervisor recently helped throw an event that cost taxpayers more than $85,000 despite a recent probe into her apparently "excessive" spending habits.
On August 17, Tiffany Henyard, the mayor of the Village of Dolton and the supervisor of nearby Thornton Township, helped organize a municipal party entitled "A Taste of Thornton Township." Henyard's predecessor also organized the event in previous years.
'She's just not going to stop until they put cuffs on her.'
This year's event was "powered by Supervisor Tiffany A. Henyard and the Thornton Township Board" and billed as "A Free Concert & Community Celebration," according to a township Facebook post, but it was certainly not "free" for the township.
WGN Investigates discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request that the party cost about $85,770. Of that, $50,000 went to pay for two musicians, R&B singer Keke Wyatt and rapper J. Holiday, to perform for 30 minutes each. Another $6,600 went toward renting inflatable bounce houses for children, WGN-TV reported.
Despite the high price tag, the event drew small crowds. Former Dolton trustee Valeria Stubbs called it a "flop" and estimated that only 60 or 70 people showed up.
Henyard, sometimes referred to as the "Dolton dictator" and "America's worst mayor," did not seem bothered by the apparently low turnout or the costs to the township. "This is all for the babies," she said as she filmed herself at the event. "They don’t show you this side of Tiffany Henyard: the productivity."
Some local residents took a decidedly different view.
"I was flabbergasted," said Jennifer Robertz of Lansing. "I was p*ssed off. That’s my money. That’s the people’s money."
According to WGN, most of the contracts associated with the township party were signed before the board of trustees took steps to curtail municipal spending.
Last month, trustees in Dolton voted to freeze almost all village credit cards, as Blaze News previously reported. For now, only the director of administrative services will be able to use the village credit card and only for purchases preapproved by the board.
Since the spring, Henyard, 41, has also been the subject of federal and local investigations.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a fellow Democrat, was tapped to spearhead the local investigation into Henyard's "excessive and unauthorized use of village funds," according to the Washington Examiner.
In a preliminary report issued on August 8, Lightfoot revealed that Dolton was currently in a budget shortfall of over $3.6 million even though Henyard inherited a $5.6 million budget surplus when she took office in April 2022, WLS reported.
Lightfoot also documented lavish trips to Las Vegas, more than $40,000 in Amazon purchases, and another $10,000 spent at Wayfair and Best Buy, all on the village dime. "These are somebody using the credit card and charging these amounts using your tax dollars," Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot further noted that the state has not audited the village's books as required by law.
The Village of Dolton hired Lightfoot at $400 an hour for a total of $30,000. The federal investigation into Henyard remains ongoing.
At least one Dolton resident believes Henyard, whom she called "a narcissist," will eventually get her comeuppance.
"I feel like she knows this is over, but she’s going to go down kicking and screaming like an MMA fighter," Sherry Britton said. "She's just not going to stop until they put cuffs on her."
Thus far, Henyard has not been charged with any crime, though Dolton Deputy Police Chief Lewis Lacey, described as a Henyard "ally," was indicted a few weeks ago on nine federal charges, including bankruptcy fraud and perjury. He has since pled not guilty.
Henyard's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WGN.
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The city of Chicago has planned to turn the shuttered South Shore High School into a respite center for illegal immigrants. The city plans to house 250 to 500 migrants at the high school. Currently, Chicago is temporarily housing hundreds of migrants in police stations across the city.
The high school is currently being used by the Chicago Police Department as a training center. The residents wanted the former high school to be transformed into a community center.
On May 4, residents of South Shore railed against the relocation of illegal immigrants into their community during a meeting with local politicians.
“What’s important is that we really establish this is humanitarian crisis, and we are here,” Chicago chief engagement officer Nubia William told the indignant crowd, according to WTTW.
An outraged resident fired back, "How could you do that without consulting us?"
An attendee said, "I am concerned with safety in the area."
Another local citizen asked, "Where is the money coming from? Migrants don’t pay taxes. I understand helping people, but you have to start with your own home. Why don’t we have those resources with what’s happening here."
Another added, "All of a sudden we have deep pockets for people who don't pay taxes. I understand helping people, but you start with your own home."
Someone yelled during the fiery meeting, "Put them on the North Side."
"We are not inhumane to people's plight. But we are looking at the reality of the world we live in and we think it's irresponsible to take a people whose community is already in disarray and place additional people without resources," explained Brian Mullins of the Black American Voter Project.
A resident in the Democrat-dominated area demanded, "Build the wall. Make a border."
One person in the crowd was holding a sign that read: "Build the wall 2024."
President Joe Biden overwhelmingly won Cook County by capturing 74% of the vote against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The frustrated residents of the deep-blue Chicago neighborhood have filed a lawsuit to prevent the city from housing illegal immigrants at the high school. A temporary injunction was issued.
\u201cChicago residents are told that 250 illegals are coming to their neighborhood\n\nThis is how they reacted:\u201d— End Wokeness (@End Wokeness) 1683781760
In January 2019, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared that the Windy City "must be a sanctuary city."
"We’ve got to stand up to the Trump administration’s racist, anti-immigrant terror and make sure every Chicagoan is safe, regardless of citizenship status," the Democratic mayor of Chicago proclaimed.
However, Lightfoot issued an emergency declaration on Tuesday in response to illegal immigrants being transported to her city. The declaration was made on the same day that 48 migrants were sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Lightfoot claimed that the city's resources are "now stretched to the breaking point."
"We should all understand that this crisis will likely deepen before we see it get better, so as we move forward, the City of Chicago will have to bring additional locations online to prepare for the arrival of more individuals and families and to relieve Chicago Police Department districts," Lightfoot's office said in a press release. "The City of Chicago is in the midst of a national humanitarian crisis, and through a unified effort in accordance with its values as a welcoming city, Chicago is doing everything it can to respond to the urgency of this matter. The City has continued to call on federal and state governments to support the new arrival mission with much-needed additional funding and resources for emergency shelter and resettlement, as there are not enough resources currently to meet the need."
Lightfoot previously labeled Abbott a "racist" for transporting migrants to Chicago.
Lightfoot will be in office until May 15, when progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson replaces her as mayor of Chicago.
Johnson has already vowed to double down on Chicago embracing illegal immigrants.
Johnson’s campaign website bragged that his administration would "ensure law enforcement does not [cooperate] with ICE to arrest, detain or deport our migrant neighbors."
"Chicago is a sanctuary city. As such, we must always resist attempts to pit communities against each other and extend this sanctuary promise to everyone who needs it in our city – both long-time residents and newcomers alike," Johnson's site stated.
Johnson made several far-left campaign promises regarding immigration:
Abbott said on Wednesday that Texas had transported more than 17,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, including 1,600 to Chicago.
Lightfoot claimed this week that Chicago received over 8,000 illegal immigrants since August 2022. She added that the migrants are currently being housed in seven shelters and three respite locations in Chicago.
Chicago residents speak out against city helping migrants over them www.youtube.com
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Chicago's outgoing mayor, Lori Lightfoot (D), sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) Sunday demanding he stop bussing migrants to the Windy City, WFLD reported.
"I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created," the letter says in part, adding she believes the bussing initiative would be resuming Monday.
Lightfoot goes on to accuse Abbott of engaging in "inhumane and dangerous action" by sending migrants to a number of sanctuary cities. Further, she alleged in the letter that women in "active labor" and people needing "extensive medical care" had been sent to the city.
She claims to have "shouldered the responsibility of caring for more than 8,000 men, women, and children with no resources of their own."
The United States Customs and Border Patrol estimates the number of encounters at the southwest border in the month of March alone was 191,899. For Fiscal Year 2023, which started October 2022, the figure is 1,223,067.
The outgoing mayor notes in her letter that the city she is charged with running is a "Welcoming City."
On the page addressing immigration on Lightfoot's website for her failed campaign, she outlines multiple measures she undertook with respect to accommodating migrants. For one, she ended police collaboration with ICE and ended ICE access to citywide databases. She also issued an executive order making non-citizen Chicago residents eligible for benefits and services.
In large, bold print, the page declares, "Mayor Lightfoot is committed to making Chicago the most welcoming city in the nation for immigrants and refugees."
That welcome does not include people arriving by bus, it would appear, at least when the mayor has decided the city cannot handle any more people "with no resources of their own."
"I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity they deserve."
In a closing coup de grâce, Lightfoot wrote that though the immigration crisis requires "national collaboration," the "real solution will never be the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago."
Lightfoot lost her bid for re-election to a second term in a landslide February 28. Her successor, Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, will be sworn in May 15.
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Chicago’s Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated seven appointees to the city’s board of education early last week after the previous board collectively resigned in early October. The move stunned the city and the rest of the nation. The drama is the latest sad episode of Chicago’s downward spiral, thanks to its Democrat mayor and the […]
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