Illinois Comptroller Withholds Funds From Dolton As Tiffany Henyard Orders Police To Obey Disgraced Department Ally

The Illinois state comptroller on Thursday took the extraordinary step of withholding some funds from the troubled village of Dolton, blaming scandal-scarred Tiffany Henyard for the first such action as the self-proclaimed “Super Mayor” told police officers to follow the orders of her disgraced department ally, who was placed on leave before being charged.

State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she would immediately suspend all “compensation” money normally distributed to municipalities because Dolton leader Henyard “refuses” to submit financial reports to the state.

The town was on track to earn $135,000 this year, but could instead start facing fines if the problems persist. If the problems are fixed, the receiver will restart payments.

Mendoza said that while his office tries to help municipalities that have difficulty filing the required annual reports, “Dolton is different.”

“The mayor’s office has refused to communicate with us or address the issue,” she said in a statement. “If Mayor Henyard refuses to comply with state law, my office will use the tools at our disposal to safeguard the interests of the citizens of Dolton.”

The town did not submit reports to the comptroller’s office in 2022 and 2023, the comptroller said.

The state collects “offset” funds when it withholds part of a resident’s income tax return or lottery winnings if they fail to pay a local parking or speeding ticket, according to a comptroller spokesman.

Those funds are then distributed back to the municipality, according to the office.

The state agency made it clear it would not give the money to Dolton, who is already facing financial difficulties, until he comes clean about his financial records.

But the town could face fines totaling $78,600 for delinquent paperwork if city officials fail to release the records, the comptroller’s office said.

Henyard, who was elected in 2021, has faced mounting allegations of malfeasance in office, including misuse of taxpayer funds. Federal investigators reportedly requested financial information and documents linked to her and the town earlier this year as part of an investigation.

‘Silly games’

Henyard’s ally in the police department, Deputy Chief Lewis Lacey, was federally indicted Monday on bankruptcy fraud and other charges, although the criminal case is not related to the village.

Last week, trustees opposed to Henyard before the indictment placed him on administrative leave, but an attorney for the trustees said he will still work.

Confusion about his employment status persisted throughout this week.

Henyard ordered police officers to continue following Lacey’s orders on Thursday, according to video obtained by WGN.

“Stop playing these silly games,” Henyard is heard saying.

Lacey also issued a warning for police to get their act together, according to the station.

“Do what you want, but anything after that is insubordination,” he said.

But Village Manager Keith Freeman told officials in an email that Lacey was no longer a village employee.

“Mr. Lacey is not permitted to enter any employee-only spaces with an escort,” she said, according to WGN.

Last week, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed that the village’s coffers were in ruins under Henyard’s leadership, while outlining high spending, including $43,000 in one day at Amazon.

The withdrawn funds come as a local CBS report claims Henyard is nowhere to be found this week, but a trustee told The Post on Thursday that was not the case.

“She’s not missing, I think the news has been saying that. She’s on social media and she was in a meeting today, but she hasn’t made many comments about the report,” Trustee Kiana Belcher said in reference to Lightfoot’s report.

The comptroller’s office also cited an undated email from a Dolton village clerk alleging that Freeman does not allow department heads to pass information to the clerk’s office when the public seeks village records and documents.

Earlier this year, Freeman was charged by the federal government with bankruptcy fraud that is also not tied to town business. While Henyard said this month that he was fired, trustees opposing her have said she does not have the sole power to make that personnel move.

Freeman used to be an ally of Henyard before the two had a falling out, WGN reported.