The troubled Illinois village led by “Dolton Dictator” Mayor Tiffany Henyard spent greater than $43,000 in Amazon purchases in a single day — even because the municipality’s funds are in shambles, based on a damning new probe.
Dolton additionally spent large bucks on out-of-state journeys and police time beyond regulation, based on the report launched amid amid allegations Henyard is utilizing native police as her private bodyguards within the Chicago suburb.
Ex-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed the monster cash objects throughout a gathering Thursday night time, months after she was employed at $400 per hour to probe the village on the path of trustees preventing again towards Henyard.
“$40,000 at Amazon,” Dolton Trustee Kiana Belcher mentioned following the report presentation.
“What a slap within the face to everyone that resides in 60419 zip code.”
She even went as far as to say that village taxpayers have been “financially raped.”
“And when folks rape folks, they get something they deserve,” Belcher cryptically mentioned, including it’s “sickening.”
Henyard, who began her time period in 2021, has confronted allegations of misusing village funds and fascinating in different corruption, together with utilizing the police for private enterprise.
The report, which is just preliminary findings, didn’t join the gorgeous spending on to Henyard — although Lightfoot mentioned the mayor’s workplace didn’t supply a lot cooperation through the first a part of her probe and additional investigation is required.
The village has used no less than six bank cards, together with 4 by the police division, one which has statements addressed to the village administrator and one other that has statements addressed to the village, per the report.
As Lightfoot rattled off one gorgeous quantity after the subsequent, residents within the crowd gasped.
The surprising figures embody Amazon purchases of $33,005, $4,715, and $5,609 on Jan. 5, 2023. Greater than $12,000 mixed was spent at Greatest Purchase, Goal, Walgreens, Wayfair and Giftly.com between Might 2023 and December 2023, based mostly on the knowledge Lightfoot obtained thus far.
Village bank cards had been additionally used to fund journeys for a number of folks to Washington, DC, Austin, Texas, New York Metropolis, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, in addition to a couple of different spots, the report states.
The receipts for bank card purchases are hardly ever offered and permitted by the village board, based on the report.
Henyard’s workplace is going through allegations it fired an worker who claimed that she was sexually assaulted by one of many mayor’s supporters throughout a taxpayer-funded “financial improvement” journey to Sin Metropolis.
Police prices jumped 21% from two years in the past, with police time beyond regulation spiking by almost $880,000, based on the report.
Common month-to-month bills within the village have jumped virtually 30% because the fiscal 12 months in 2022, Lightfoot mentioned.
She famous the village’s basic fund, which is used to pay for many of Dolton’s bills, has a adverse stability of $3.65 million as of Might 31. In April 2022, it was $5.61 million within the black.
Since March 2023, the village has struggled to pay all its month-to-month payments with the money it has, Lightfoot mentioned.
Lightfoot, who served one time period as Chicago mayor, was thumped in her re-election bid final 12 months. She was beforehand an lawyer with a well known Chicago regulation agency and a federal prosecutor.
Henyard, who can be the supervisor for the Thorntown Township, can be going through a legal probe carried out by the feds who issued subpoenas for a trove of enterprise data and monetary experiences a couple of months in the past.
Simply this week, village trustees voted to chop off entry to village bank cards to Henyard and different officers in a blow to her energy and in hopes of holding village purse strings tighter.
Henyard’s conduct has outraged residents who’ve referred to as on the self-described “tremendous mayor” to step down. Thursday’s report led to extra condemnation.
“I’m simply so disgusted with what’s occurring on this village,” one native girl mentioned through the assembly.
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