(UnitedVoice.com) – Illinois doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to honest politicians. From 1976 to 2010, the state ranked third with the most corruption convictions. In 2022, Illinois Policy reported that four of the previous ten governors had been convicted of criminal offenses. In 2011, former Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was convicted of trying to profit off of Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. The ex-governor spent almost eight years in prison before former President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.
Another Illinois politician is now under investigation.
Controversial Mayor
In January, Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard (D) traveled to Washington, DC, to meet President Joe Biden. The Democrat posted a video of herself chatting with him at the White House during the US Conference of Mayors winter meeting.
The next month, Fox News Digital reported the Democrat went on a tirade after media reports surfaced about her spending. The mayor has a salary of $300,000, even though the median income in the town is just $24,000. Despite making hundreds of thousands of dollars, she was also allegedly using the town’s credit card for purchases.
During a livestreamed meeting, Henyard lashed out after her colleagues on the local board said they didn’t “trust that money is going to where it’s intended,” so they blocked any attempt to pay bills that do not have detailed explanations of where the money will go.
Henyard told the other officials on the board that they seemed to have forgotten that she’s “the leader,” saying, “You all ain’t learned that yet.” A Dolton trustee, Brittney Norwood, who is part of a lawsuit accusing the mayor of fraud, pointed out that as a leader, the mayor should just explain how money was being spent.
During the same meeting, Henyard accused the others of being black and “sitting up here beating and attacking on a Black woman that’s in power.” She said they should be ashamed.
That was just one of many allegations of corruption against the mayor.
Federal Investigation
According to Fox 32 Chicago, Lawrence Gardner, the owner of a local U-Haul rental and trucking business, said he spoke to the FBI about the mayor several months ago. He said he told the agents he was angry that the Village of Dolton wouldn’t renew his business license, claiming he’d been harassed by officials.
Gardner said the Dolton Police raided his business and threatened to shut him down. He claimed the harassment started after he refused to donate money at a civic event the mayor sponsored.
The business owner said he gave the federal agents all of his “paperwork to show them what was happening in court” and in the town. He claimed the agents took his allegations “very serious[ly].”
At least six people have said they were interviewed by federal agents. They wanted to know about Henyard’s use of public funds and resources, including the money she spent on extravagant out-of-town trips. The FBI also reportedly asked about hundreds of thousands of dollars the police paid in overtime to the mayor’s protection detail. Finally, she’s accused of holding up business licenses, like Gardner’s.
The FBI does not confirm federal investigations.
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