DOLTON, Ill. (TND) — Residents of Dolton, Illinois took to their village hall Monday to express fury with their embattled mayor who has come under fire for alleged misuse of public funds.
Dolton residents have questioned Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s leadership since February, when scrutiny of her spending habits began. Henyard has allegedly spent public funds on lavish travel and dining, something she has defended by saying critics are attacking her status as a Black woman in “power.”
“Y’all got false narratives out there and y’all should be ashamed of y’all self,” Henyard told village board members in February. “Y’all are Black. Y’all are Black. And y’all are sitting up here beating and attacking on a Black woman that’s in power.”
On Monday, community members pounded on doors and yelled while the village’s monthly meeting took place inside the hall. Security on site prohibited at least 25 individuals from entering the meeting, according to FOX32 Chicago. Several residents inside demanded Henyard’s resignation.
“This is a disgrace what you have done to this village,” one resident told Henyard. “They say that you’re the worst mayor in America. I agree.”
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Several other irate attendees raised their voices while addressing the board about Henyard’s conduct, as well as questioning the decision to lock village hall doors and prohibit community members from entering.
“Because she has a lot of things she has to hide,” one said. “She has to account for the money that’s been spent.”
Dolton’s acting police chief later brought the meeting to an abrupt end, saying police had received word of “credible threats.”
Last month, Henyard vetoed a FBI probe into her spending, arguing the investigation was the result of a “secret squirrel meeting.”
“It’s nothing but a show, and it saddens my heart to just see people focusing on the minute things,” Henyard said of the probe. “Things where you need to throw your rock and hide your hand – that’s what’s going on in our village.”
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