'You should be ashamed': Mayor of Illinois town fires back at critics after being slammed for high salary demands and using city money for hair, make-up and luxury trips across the US
- Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021, but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending
- At a public meeting Monday night, Henyard attempted to shame the trustees by pointing out her status as the first female mayor of the village
- 'You all should be ashamed of yourselves! And you all sitting up here beating and attacking a black woman that's in power'
Tiffany poses with her dog, bedecked in jewelry
The first female mayor of a tiny Illinois village slammed her critics at a public meeting after she caused outrage by taking a $300,000 salary.
Glamorous Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021, but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending.
'You all should be ashamed of yourselves because you all are black. You all are black! And you all sitting up here beating and attacking a black woman that's in power,' she said at a Monday meeting trying to point to her status as the first female mayor. 'You all should be ashamed of yourselves.
She regularly engages the services of a professional hair and makeup team and stylist before public appearances and photo shoots for the county's taxpayer-funded billboards, with more recent reporting showing she's spent tens of thousands on multiple first-class trips around the country.
Glamorous Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021, but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending
Henyard also tried to lay down the law against village trustees who say she's misusing funds.
'You all forget I'm the leader. They want to hear from the mayor. You all ain't learned that yet,' she said. 'The mayor, not the trustees that don't do nothing. They only run their mouth. You all don't do no work, no work!'
Since the initial reporting on Henyard's spending, it's been revealed she and other officials spent more than $67,000 on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City on the village's dime, according to WGN.
Many of the flights were first-class, while Henyard's team spent $13,000 in public money staying in New York.
Things have gotten worse for Henyard in the past few weeks, as budget cuts were blamed for water main breaks and a mass shooting took place in the village last week.
'It's unfortunate that politics are being played. What's happened is a million dollars out of my budget have been cut because of politics,' Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey said.
Henyard doesn't understand the criticism, as she believes she's working to better everyone's lives.
'Everything we do is for the people. But we're under attack. We get scrutinized by the media,' she said. 'For what? Loving on the people? Showing that they matter to us? We going through the fires for you all.'
At a public meeting Monday night, Henyard attempted to shame the trustees by pointing out her status as the first female mayor of the village and as a black woman
Dolton is a village in Illinois of just around 20,000 people
The village board says the problem is a matter of trust, with citizens and trustees being unable to vet her spending.
'At the end of the day, vendors aren't being paid. The board approved it, but vendors aren't being paid,' Dolton trustee Jason House said.
Fellow trustee Brittney Norwood added: 'How about you be a good leader and bring [proposals] to the forefront so not just us, but residents and everyone else in America know how the money is being spent.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to Mayor Henyard for comment.
Henyard is always snapped in tasteful, expensive looking outfits. She has posted photos of herself getting out of chauffeur driven SUVS, with one Instagram post even appearing to show her with a dog laden with jewelry.
Henyard, who often refers to herself as 'God's favorite', has now sparked further outrage by proposing a new law that would cap the next mayor's salary at $25,000, unless she remains in the role, Fox 32 reports.
Many believe the proposal, which has been branded 'illegal' is an attempt to dissuade anyone from running against her in the 2025 race. Now trustees in her town have filed a lawsuit against her alleging forgery and claiming she withheld financial records.
Henyard has been slammed for 'living like a royal' with extravagant spending. She earns $300,000-a-year but is seeking to lower her successor's salary to $25,000 in what critics claim is a bit to dissuade anyone from running against her
Henyard is pictured stepping out of a chauffeured SUV in one of her stylish outfits. She's been blasted for spending taxpayer cash on security, as well as professional hair and makeup artists
The scandal is just the latest to hit the beleaguered mayor, after she was slammed for hiring her former campaign worker as the town's code enforcement officer despite the fact he is a convicted child rapist.
She also raised eyebrows after spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars of security details, including one for an event with senior citizens and another occasion where she pulled cops off the street to perform a protection outfit.
Questions have emerged over how she funds her apparently lavish lifestyle, especially since she has repeatedly swerved questions and dismissed criticism by branding trustees for the township as 'haters' in TikTok videos.
Dolton trustees say she has not explained the need for her eye-watering security budget. They also claim she issued checks without proper authorization.
'I see no justification whatsoever. And more than that it's really a detriment to the citizens of Dolton,' trustee Jason House told Fox 32.
'If we were to take the same money and put it on officers patrolling the streets, then the residents will see a much better presence and public safety will be better.'
Heynard, a Democrat, was sworn in as mayor in May, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to occupy that post in Dolton's 128-year history.
Henyard uses professional stylists as well and hair and makeup teams prior to events but is not forthcoming about how they are funded
Heynard, the first female and youngest mayor of Dolton, Illinois, is under fire for hiring her former campaign worker Lavelle Redmond (pictured together, left) as a code enforcement officer. The 46-year-old is a registered child sex offender
After a recall bid failed, Henyard posted this defiant image on Instagram declaring she 'forever will be Dolton's mayor'
A year after her election, Dolton residents triggered a recall process largely due to her hiring of convicted sex offender Lavelle Redmond into a role that would require him to enter people's homes.
According to reporting at the time, the then-16-year-old Redmond and three others kidnapped and sexually assaulted two girls, ages 13 and 14.
At age 17, Redmond was sentenced to 50 years in prison but was paroled in 2016 and required to register as a sex offender. At the time Henyard defended the move, stating that convicts who have served time deserve a second chance.
However, the recall failed on a technicality and Henyard remained in post, turning up to the next board meeting blasting a disco song and dancing on the podium.
Following the verdict, she also posted a defiant picture on Instagram proclaiming herself the 'People's Mayor' with the caption, 'I am and forever will be Dolton's Mayor.'
The post is one of hundreds on the politicians profile that feature glamorous headshots of her promoting various town events and holidays.
She also features heavily on professional stylist Brandon K Momom's account, sporting various ensembles handpicked for her public appearances.
Visitors to Henyard's website are greeted by a huge selfie and encouraged to offer donations.
Her antics have earned comparisons to the show Parks and Recreation, a comedy which pokes fun at local government employees.
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