Lori Lightfoot finds Dolton, Illinois is over $3.5 million in the red as she probes village mayor's spending
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) — The Village of Dolton is more than $3.5 million in the hole, an investigation into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's misuse of village funds has found.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is leading the investigation into Henyard. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, in April, agreed to investigate the claims about the misuse of public funds—which Henyard has repeatedly denied.
A community packed a special village meeting to hear firsthand what Lightfoot uncovered. The crowd gasped when the revelations were announced—and many were left furious, and further questioning where their tax dollars are going.
"We've worked very, very diligently, very hard—under difficult circumstances—to get as much information as we could to share with you," Lightfoot told the crowd.
A limited examination of the books revealed that as of May 31, 2024, the Dolton Village General Fund had a negative balance of $3.65 million. Folks shook their heads in disbelief as Lightfoot—the special investigator hired by village trustees—showed there are simply no checks and balances with the records she found.
"If you hear this is fake news, it's not. It's real," Lightfoot told the crowd. "This is real."
According to the report, credit card spending is out of control.
"Receipts for credit card purchases are rarely provided," Lightfoot said.
And when Lightfoot dug into what money was spent, she found overtime—especially with two specific officers—kept jumping year after year.
The two officers racked up overtime to the point of nearly doubling their salaries.
One officer made $108,000 in overtime alone in Fiscal Year 2023, and $114,000 in Fiscal Year 2024—up against a regular pay of $72,000 in FY2023 and $87,000 in FY2024. The other officer racked up $87,000 in overtime in FY2023 and $102,000 in FY2024, against regular pay of $55,000 in FY2023 and $73,000 in FY2024.
"I've been here so long," said Dolton resident Cheryl Hill. "I have seen police be paid that amount of money—under no circumstances.
Dolton police Deputy Chief Lewis Lacey, who was fired this week, also made a killing in overtime. He was paid $39,000 in overtime in FY2022, $67,000 in FY2023, $96,000 in FY2024, and $12,000 since the new fiscal year began May 1. This is on top of his salary.
"We've been trying to get these records for the past two years," said Dolton resident Gerald Williams. "Now we have some idea—well, we have a big idea."
In her investigation, Lightfoot also uncovered spending that just doesn't compute with municipal finances. The report shows there are $40,000 in unaccounted-for money spent on Amazon purchases in a single day.
"For what? That's ridiculous," Williams said. "What did they get from Amazon for $40,000?"
Residents left upset, and feeling uneasy.
"I've actually been watching and saying, when is the tsunami going to actually hit us and knock the community off its feet?" said Hill. "That's what I just seen."
Lightfoot emphasized that this was on the preliminary investigation, and she still wants to know about specific purchases such as the $40,000 Amazon purchase in one day.
Henyard has not assisted in Lightfoot's investigation. In May, Henyard vetoed the investigation, saying: "How dare you think you can come into someone's town and investigate? You will not get paid." But the village board voted to override the veto.
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.
Dolton's financial situation
Dolton's dire financial situation was addressed at another fiery village board meeting on Monday night.
Officials revealed they've had to dip into Tax Increment Financing fees to pay public-sector employees. They also approved layoffs of eight village employees, citing financial issues.
"It's unfortunate, but we have to make these decisions so we can make payroll," Trustee Brittney Norwood said.
The board also froze credit card spending. This means only the director or administrative services can use the village credit card for approved expenses. Only $5,000 can be spent at a time.
Trustees also discussed putting a village-owned property on the market. It was supposed to become a Dolton police station, but the village doesn't have the money to make that happen. The board did not vote on possibly selling that property.
