In south suburban Chicago township, trustees blast Tiffany Henyard and call for probe of spending
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (CBS) -- In a new storm of controversy from the south suburbs Tuesday night, Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard faced off with trustees and neighbors.
Once again, it's all about the money.
The Thornton Township Board is currently operating without a fiscal budget. Its trustees are demanding that Henyard, the supervisor, also become more transparent with her spending—which encompasses 17 south suburban communities.
"Lori Lightfoot did such a great job in Dolton," said Thornton Township Trustee Carmen Carlisle. "I would welcome her to come and do the same thing here at Thornton Township."
Thornton Township trustees issued calls for investigations and access to spending—as former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot conducted in Dolton, where Henyard is also in charge. The Thornton Township trustees claimed items not approved by the board keep showing up for approval.
"Voted not to approve and then somehow they magically, they end up on the credit card, and that's one of the reasons we're doing this," said Trustee Chris Gonzalez.
Yet Henyard said the board is showboating.
"This is what I mean about my board," said Henyard. "It's a lot of hate, jealousy, and envy amongst them towards their supervisor."
While Henyard calls it hate, her efforts to keep a community senior bingo program failed due to questionable spending.
"It was presented that all prizes were donated," Carlisle said. "But that is not the case. The prizes for bingo are being purchased by Thornton Township."
The trustees argued that expenses are out of control.
"This dysfunctional board wants to take it away," Henyard said. "That's sad, because they got nothing else to do."
Henyard tried to get an audit of the past 10 years at Thornton Township, claiming the township was in financial ruins before she arrived. The board approved to have an audit going back only three years, to when Henyard was appointed.
"I am the leader for Thornton Township. I am the supervisor of Thornton Township," Henyard said, "and I'm going to make sure you all give me my respect and stop playing these games every time you come to the meeting."
"Respect is earned. It is not demanded," Carlisle fired back after both accused the other of being out of order.
Things got heated during public comment after someone compared Henyard to an animal. Police were called in.
Henyard claims she was able to get the township out of deficit—but while she makes those claims, she has not provided any documentation to prove it.