Chicago-area Mayor Tiffany Henyard jumps into board meeting brawl

Tiffany Henyard, the scandal-plagued mayor of Dolton, Illinois, was seen on video leaping right into a chaotic brawl that broke out between her boyfriend and an activist who known as her a “b—-” throughout a heated board assembly Tuesday night time. 

The combat occurred throughout a Thornton Township Board of Trustees assembly, after activist Jedidiah Brown had some sturdy phrases for Henyard. 

Brown referenced the findings of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s investigation into Henyard, as a scathing report introduced to the village board Monday night time alleged a sample of deception and mismanagement of funds by the mayor.  

“You’ve got been a half-a– mayor. However if you happen to needed to rise up right here and earn some respect, then it’s best to have been in a position to answer Lori Lightfoot’s report about bank cards. You need to discuss them not coming to work, however we have been listening to what you have been doing when you’ve been at work,” Brown mentioned through the public remark part of the township assembly Tuesday. “And I will give away the remainder of my time as a result of I believe, on behalf of the Black Cookout Affiliation, that we higher take a vote … that we will trade your Black a– for Stephanie to be the newer member.… So all these towards it say ‘nay,’ all these in favor say, ‘aye.’” 

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“You gone, b—-,” Brown concluded. 

The room shortly devolved into chaos, as bystander video confirmed Henyard’s boyfriend, Kamal Woods, and Brown throwing punches at each other behind the room. Others joined the combat as safety tried to separate the gang. 

The video exhibits Henyard, who had been seated behind a desk on the entrance of the room listening to the remarks, operating over to hitch the melee within the again. Cops quickly arrived on the scene. 

“I’ve by no means seen a politician bounce in and combat like that – it was scary and horrible – it is a humiliation,” one witness, Meghan Dudek, advised WMAQ-TV. 

“It ought to have by no means come to blows, and Tiffany ought to have by no means obtained concerned,” one other witness, Gerald Williams, added. “She jumped in. She hit her head on the desk, so I do not know. She may be injured.” 

“It was one factor when the fellows had been combating, however when she jumped in it, I used to be bowled over. I used to be floored,” a 3rd witness, Alicia Nichole, advised WLS-TV. 

It’s unclear from the video whether or not Henyard was actively collaborating within the combat or attempting to interrupt it up. 

“Within the face of countless false accusations and outright lies about Mayor Henyard which can be being trafficked on social media by her political enemies, it’s unsurprising that violence erupted,” Henyard’s legal professional, Beau B. Brindley, mentioned in an announcement obtained by Fox Information. “Within the social media age, unchecked falsehoods result in misplaced rigidity and aggression. This episode exhibits that the marketing campaign of false details about the mayor places her and others in peril.”

Earlier than it turned violent, the assembly had already grown tense because the board voted to position Woods and one other man, William Moore, on depart with out pay and rent auditors to analyze their administration of the township’s at-risk youth program.

Mayor Tiffany Henyard appeared confrontational with the Dolton, Illinois, residents she was elected to symbolize throughout a contentious board assembly on Aug. 5, 2024. (FOX 32 Chicago)

Henyard can be the supervisor of Thornton Township in south Chicago however not too long ago misplaced a Democratic main for that position to Illinois State. Sen. Napoleon Harris, who will advance to the April normal election with social gathering assist. 

Henyard claimed there was “voter suppression,” however misplaced her bid to be added again on to the poll.

Dolton Park District Government Director Stephanie Wiedeman was not too long ago elected to fill a vacant seat on the Thornton Township Board of Trustees. Her election ended a tense political standoff and native authorities shutdown. 

ILLINOIS ‘SUPER MAYOR’ CONDUCTED ‘SYSTEMATIC’ COVER-UP OF EXCESSIVE SPENDING, LIGHTFOOT INVESTIGATION FINDS

With Wiedeman on the board, the township was capable of finish the shutdown by approving its tax levy ordinance and insurance coverage, WLS reported.

Tiffany Henyard, the mayor of Dolton, Illinois seen yelling at fellow lawmakers after questioned had been raised about spending and transparency. (Fox Information)

Lightfoot, who was employed to analyze the Dolton mayor final summer time, discovered that Henyard and her administration engaged in a “concerted, systematic effort” since a minimum of 2021 “to cover the true monetary situation of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the general public.” In presenting her findings to the village board Monday night time, Lightfoot revealed the Village of Dolton had obtained some $3 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan, tons of of hundreds of which went lacking with out receipts. Henyard did not appoint an official to trace how the funds had been spent, as required by the Treasury Division, Lightfoot’s report says. 

The town’s bank card spending additionally spiked to $779,638 in 2023, with little to no monitoring.

“Lots of the bank card expenditures haven’t any accompanying receipt, and the statements alone present restricted details about the purchases,” the report says, in response to the Chicago Solar-Instances. 

Metropolis bank cards had been additionally used to pay for giant journeys to Las Vegas in each 2022 and 2023, and the report claims, “There isn’t a proof that any enterprise improvement alternatives got here to the village on account of both of those two journeys.”

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Tuesday’s combat comes days after Henyard was additionally held in contempt of courtroom for allegedly stonewalling liquor licenses for months. 

Fox Information’ Patrick McGovern and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.