4 trustees don't show up to village board meeting in troubled Chicago suburb of Dolton
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) -- The drama erupted again Tuesday night at a monthly meeting of the Dolton Village Board of Trustees—after four members did not show up.
Embattled Mayor Tiffany Henyard fired back against the absent board members at the meeting Tuesday—accusing them of trying to take village action without her.
"Just pay attention to who's bringing all the drama to your community. Where are all the hecklers that's normally in the crowd? They're not here today," said Henyard. "Where's everybody that's got something to say when everybody is talking up here giving their opinion? That's how you know everybody are plants in the audience, because now today, we can talk you, and you can hear us."
Their absence came after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a binding opinion—accusing the village of failing to make its meetings convenient and open to the public.
Henyard is currently under investigation for her handling of village finances. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is leading the investigation into Henyard, and found last month that the Dolton Village General Fund had a negative balance of $3.65 million.
Meanwhile, the FBI is conducting an investigation at Dolton Village Hall, although they haven't elaborated on who is being investigated. Henyard will have to cooperate if and when the FBI asks questions about village finances.
The only trustees who attended the meeting Tuesday night were Stanley Brown and Andrew Holmes. In a separate controversy, a former Dolton employee filed a civil lawsuit claiming Holmes sexually assaulted her while attending a conference for the village in Las Vegas in May of last year. He has not been criminally charged.