In a contentious move, the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees has officially hired former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to independently investigate Mayor Tiffany Henyard over alleged mishandling of village funds and other complaints.
Henyard has been dubbed the “Worst Mayor in America” by constitutes — narrowly beating out the controversial Lightfoot, who was fired by her constitutes in the Chicago Democratic primary last year.
The controversial decision to have a heavily-criticized Democrat investigate another Democratic leader came during a tense board meeting on Monday night, which had been rescheduled after chaos erupted at the previous attempt when trustees abruptly exited before a vote could occur.
With around 150 community members in attendance, and Henyard herself absent alongside two trustees, the remaining board members appointed Trustee Jason House as mayor pro tempore to oversee proceedings.
All four trustees present then voted to bring Lightfoot on board as a “special investigator.”
“We feel this option will give us an independent process,” House stated, citing the board’s prior outreach to state authorities about “ongoing investigations from federal entities” that could take years to resolve.
Trustee Kiana Belcher framed Lightfoot’s investigative powers as crucial to “get what we’re missing, to seal this deal and take our community back.” Belcher claimed the Village of Dolton currently faces over $7 million in debt.
Henyard had previously vetoed calls for an inquiry into her own conduct, including scrutiny around a Las Vegas work trip last year. A former village employee accused the mayor of retaliating against her for reporting an alleged sexual assault by a trustee during that trip.
The former prosecutor hired by Henyard’s administration, Michael del Galdo, sent a letter Monday opposing Lightfoot’s appointment as potentially illegal since Dolton’s trustees already have legal counsel.
However, the trustees claimed that it was legal to install Lightfoot as an “investigator” rather than additional counsel.
Lightfoot will be paid an eye-watering $400 per hour for her work, capped at $30,000 to start.
In a statement, Lightfoot said she was “honored” by the appointment and committed to conducting “a thorough and timely independent investigation” to ensure Dolton residents have “a government that is fully accountable, responsive, transparent and effective.”
The former Chicago mayor, who left office in April, now takes on the new job of investigating the current leadership of the neighboring suburb.
Her probe promises to shine a harsh spotlight on Dolton’s municipal affairs after the previous closed-door turbulence.
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The Horn News editorial team