Just months after her election in 2021, there was a “concerted and systematic effort” by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard to hide the condition of village finances from trustees, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.
In her final report on her investigation into Henyard and village finances, Lightfoot told some 200 residents and others the concealment continued and that, by March 2022, trustees “were effectively cut off from receiving regular financial reports.”
Lightfoot was hired by village trustees last year to investigate spending by the village and the Henyard administration of Henyard. Lightfoot had given an initial report of her findings last summer.
She credited trustees Monday for taking steps to curb spending and bring costs and revenue more in sync, but said Dolton still owes at least $5 million to vendors for goods and services, and continues to run a budget deficit.
After her public comments, Lightfoot told reporters “residents of Dolton have suffered needlessly because of the financial mismanagement of the current mayor.”
Trustee Jason House, who is challenging Henyard in the Feb. 25 Democratic primary, said that he and other trustees are “working to get them on the right track” as far as village finances.
The findings from Lightfoot “reminds us we have a lot of work to do and we’re going to do it,” House said.
Federal investigators have served subpoenas at Dolton Village Hall and at Thornton Township, where Henyard is supervisor, although she faces a big obstacle in seeking a second term as supervisor.
Lightfoot said she has been in contact with the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago regarding her findings. She told the audience that, unlike law enforcement, she does not have subpoena power and there were “consistent challenges” in getting the needed documents and other information to show a clearer picture of village finances.
Dolton resident Lydia Miller said she was astonished after hearing Lightfoot’s findings.
“I don’t know how we got into this mess and I really don’t know how we can get out of it,” Miller said. “We need outside help, maybe from the state.”
A revelation from Lightfoot’s report was in the village’s insurance coverage.
She said that many longtime insurance companies that provided coverage to Dolton opted not to last spring. The village was able to get insurance for 2024 and into this year, but it is costing more and the coverage is lower, as far as maximum payout on claims for departments such as police.
Apart from spending more, the village also had to make a concession that insurance coverage for village officers not include the mayor, Lightfoot said.
With an insurer unwilling to include Henyard in coverage, that “puts the village and taxpayers potentially at risk,” Lightfoot said.
She said the village’s financial condition has improved slightly in recent months.
Through the first six months of this fiscal year, average monthly spending is running at $2.1 million, down from $2.6 million in fiscal 2024.
So far this budget year, through October, both revenue and spending in the village’s general fund are in alignment, at just under $13 million. In fiscal 2024, spending outpaced revenue by nearly $5 million, according to Lightfoot’s report.
At the end of October, the village was running a negative cash balance of just under $5.5 million, which had improved from a negative balance of $5.68 million at the end of last May, according to her report.
mnolan@southtownstar.com
