Illinois Mayor Tried to Play the Race Card at a Community Meeting. There Was One Big Problem.

Matt Vespa | April 15, 2024 6:00 AM

Dolton, Illinois, is the scene of a political circus. The village outside of Chicago is the epicenter of local uproar over the misappropriation of funds, and now a sexual misconduct allegation lobbed at an ally of Dolton’s mayor, Tiffany Henyard. Dolton Trustee Andrew Holmes has been accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit filed by a former Dolton employee. Henyard was named for being the person who allegedly tried to cover it up. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been tapped to investigate all the claims of malfeasance lobbed at Ms. Henyard (via Chicago Sun-Times):

Dolton Trustee Andrew Holmes and the south suburban village's embattled Mayor Tiffany Henyard were sued this week for an alleged sexual assault of a village employee in Las Vegas last year.
The civil lawsuit was filed Monday in Cook County by the now-former village employee and a Dolton police officer. It accuses Holmes, also a well-known community activist for victims of gun violence, of sexually assaulting the village employee. Henyard is named for allegedly trying to cover up the incident to protect herself and retaliating against the employee when she tried to come forward about the assault.
The lawsuit comes the same week former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was hired by the village's Board of Trustees to investigate Henyard, look into possible mayoral misspending and the allegations connected to the May 2023 Las Vegas trip.

Ms. Henyard also serves as a supervisor for Thorton Township, which encompasses Dolton, where she’s also taking heat. With nowhere to go at a recent community meeting last week, Henyard tried to play the race card. The problem is most of the black residents weren’t taking the bait, audibly rejecting her attempt to pivot away from her alleged scandals (via WGN Chicago):

Frustrated residents showed up in force at the Thorton Township meeting Tuesday, demanding answers from Tiffany Henyard about everything from spending to a sexual misconduct claim against one of her allies.
Grasping a gold microphone, Henyard faced questions she, for the most part, refused to answer.
“My comment is, it’s public comment,” she said.
Many at the meeting demanded answers and accused Henyard of hiding something.
“When you don’t answer questions, there’s something to hide,” Dolton resident Mary Avon said.
“No, ‘madam supervisor,’ we are not brainwashed. We are fed up,” South Holland resident Curtis Watts said.
[…]
WGN Investigates reported earlier this year Henyard and her allies in the township wracked up more than $67,000 on travel in a several-month period last year. Many of the flights were first-class, and so were the accommodations
Henyard has never fully explained the spending and continues to say she’s the victim of vicious opponents and racism.

I have a feeling that things aren’t going to end well for Ms. Henyard.