Tiffany Henyard
Tiffany Aiesha Henyard is an American politician. Henyard served as mayor of Dolton, Illinois from 2021 to 2025 and as supervisor of Thornton Township, Illinois from 2022 to 2025. She previously served two terms as a member of the Dolton Village Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2021. Henyard was elected trustee in 2013 and 2017, and elected mayor in 2021. She was appointed township supervisor in 2022.
During her tenure as mayor and supervisor, Henyard was the subject of multiple investigations and legal proceedings concerning the management of public funds and official conduct. In 2024, the Illinois Attorney General ordered a charitable organization associated with her to cease soliciting donations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also conducted inquiries and issued subpoenas related to village operations. As of 2024, Henyard was under civil investigation by the Illinois Department of Human Rights and was named as a defendant in several lawsuits. She ran for reelection as mayor in 2025 and was defeated in the Democratic primary by trustee Jason House.
Early life, education, and career
Henyard is a lifelong resident of Dolton. She graduated from Thornridge High School. She has stated that she earned a degree in business administration from Robert Morris University Illinois; however, a subsequent investigation was unable to substantiate this claim.In 2011, Henyard began her involvement in government and politics by working on then-Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s "Put Illinois to Work" initiative. She has called Dorothy Brown and Frank Zuccarelli two of her mentors.
Henyard founded a restaurant business called Good Burger in Calumet City, Illinois. The business later closed before opening a new location on the campus of South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois in 2024. The restaurant was the subject of complaints regarding sanitary conditions and permit compliance, and records indicated that the company was delinquent on rent payments. The business was involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State in 2022.
Dolton village trustee (2013–2021)
Henyard served as a village trustee in Dolton, first elected in the 2013 plurality-at-large election and re-elected in 2017. Supporters referred to her as the "People’s Trustee". During her tenure, she was a frequent critic of then-Mayor Riley Rogers.In 2018, Henyard was one of two trustees who voted against overturning Rogers's veto of the city’s budget appropriation for the 2018–2019 fiscal year. The board overrode the veto in a 4–2 vote, after which ten village employees were laid off. That year, Henyard joined other trustees in an unsuccessful legal effort to prevent ballot measures supported by Rogers from appearing on the ballot. The measures, which proposed reducing the size of the board of trustees and imposing term limits, were later rejected by voters.
As trustee, Henyard started the village's Block by Block program, which allowed individuals to purchase vacant houses for $5,000 in an effort to restore properties to the tax rolls.
In August 2019, WBBM-TV reported that a property owned by Henyard and rented under the Section 8 housing program had severe mold and water leakage issues. Later that year, the station reported that the property had been deemed uninhabitable and the tenant was forced to relocate, while Henyard continued to receive housing subsidies for the property. The tenant alleged that Henyard failed to address the mold issue, and the reports prompted further scrutiny of the property’s inspection record.
2021 mayoral campaign
In 2020, Henyard announced her candidacy for mayor of Dolton in the 2021 municipal election. Her campaign focused on criticism of incumbent mayor Riley Rogers’s administration. Henyard won the Democratic Party primary, defeating Rogers in a four-way contest, and subsequently defeated independent candidate Ronnie Burge in the general election with approximately 82 percent of the vote.Henyard campaigned with a slate of candidates referred to as the Dream Team. From this group, trustee candidates Kiana Belcher and incumbent Jason House were elected, along with village clerk candidate Alison Key. Relations between Henyard and these officials later deteriorated, and by 2022, they joined other members of the village board in legal actions involving Henyard.
Mayoral tenure (2021–2025)
Henyard was sworn in as mayor of Dolton in May 2021, becoming the first woman and, at age 37, the youngest person to hold the office.Governance conflicts
Within the first months of her administration, Henyard faced criticism from members of the village board regarding government transparency and the use of municipal funds. In 2021, the board filed a lawsuit alleging conflicts of interest and later voted to censure her. Henyard accused certain trustees of disrupting village operations, and in response to disputes over governance, she restricted access to trustee offices and canceled meetings. Trustees subsequently held meetings without her participation.In October 2021, the board voted to require that hiring and firing decisions be made with its advice and consent; trustees later alleged that Henyard continued to make staffing changes unilaterally. That year, protests followed a fatal shooting by a police officer in Dolton, during which Henyard was criticized by demonstrators.
Administrative actions
During her tenure, Henyard appointed and later dismissed several department officials, including police chief Robert Collins, whom she rehired upon taking office and fired in 2023. In 2024, Collins filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that his removal was without cause and without board approval, and that it had been motivated as retribution for the mayor's perception of his wife and a number of his personal acquaintances as being political adversaries.In October 2021, Henyard appointed Dorothy Brown as Dolton's village administrator. The decision drew criticism and Brown left the role within a month.
Financial management
By 2022, Henyard faced allegations of spending village funds without proper approval from the board of trustees or the village clerk. Trustees and Henyard argued at council meetings over city spending.The board of trustees frequently challenged Henyard’s spending decisions. Trustees reported that by early 2024, Dolton had accumulated approximately $7 million in debt and warned that the village was at risk of financial insolvency. Disputes continued over budget allocations, and in February 2024, the board overrode Henyard’s veto of the 2024–25 fiscal year budget, which included spending reductions. Henyard contended that the cuts would bankrupt the village.
Security detail
In 2023 and 2024, multiple news outlets reported on Henyard’s use of a police security detail, estimating that it had cost the village approximately hundreds of thousands to $1 million. Trustees argued that diverting police resources for this purpose negatively affected public safety, and in 2021 had voted to attempt to require her to pay the city back for her police protection.Legal issues
Multiple investigations and legal actions were initiated during Henyard’s term. In early 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed witnesses and served subpoenas at Dolton Village Hall as part of an inquiry into village finances and administration. By April 2024, the village was listed as a defendant in nearly 40 active lawsuits. That month, the board hired Lori Lightfoot to review Henyard’s management of public funds. Lightfoot’s report, released in January 2025, concluded that Henyard engaged in excessive spending, withheld financial information, and failed to maintain transparency.In March 2024, WMAQ-TV reported that the Illinois Department of Human Rights was investigating claims by Henyard’s former assistant, who alleged that Henyard retaliated against her after she reported being sexually assaulted by a village trustee. Henyard denied the allegations, describing them as being made by disgruntled employees.
In 2024, Redeemed Christian Church of God Resurrection Power Assembly filed a lawsuit against Henyard and the village, alleging discrimination and improper application of zoning codes when the village prevented the church from renovating a building it had acquired. That same year, Samysha Williams, a 2023 Dolton village trustee candidate, filed a lawsuit accusing Henyard and her campaign of defamation and wrongful termination from her job at the village while taking family leave in 2022.
Henyard's administration also faced financial disputes with vendors and creditors. In February 2024, KS State Bank warned the village that 13 Dolton police department vehicles were subject to repossession over unpaid balances. Trustees stated that payment authorization had been granted months earlier, while Henyard contended the board had withheld approval.
Extortion allegations
Dolton residents, government employees, and business owners have alleged that Henyard used her position to retaliate against perceived political opponents, including claims that she directed Dolton police to target businesses whose owners did not support her and to solicit campaign contributions. She has also been accused of dismissing several village employees for political reasons.Recall attempt and aftermath
In 2022, the Dolton Village Board attempted to initiate a recall election, placing two referendum questions on the ballot—one to establish a recall mechanism and another to remove Henyard from office. Both measures were approved by a majority of voters. Subsequent court rulings determined that the referendums were invalid, and a permanent injunction prevented certification of the results.In February 2024, the board adopted a resolution requesting investigations by county, state, and federal authorities. Henyard vetoed the resolution and the board overrode her veto in April 2024.