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Controversial Democrat mayor under investigation after wild tirades, police raids, lavish spending

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Controversial Democrat mayor under investigation after wild tirades, police raids, lavish spending

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Democratic Mayor Tiffany Henyard of the small Village of Dolton, Illinois, has made national headlines in recent weeks for being accused of weaponizing police in retaliatory business raids and spending taxpayer money on luxurious trips. Now she is facing investigation by the Dolton Trustees as well as the FBI.

In a special meeting Thursday night, a four-trustee majority “voted unanimously to call for an investigation into Henyard and what they say is the misuse of funds,” FOX 32 reported. Dolton Trustees slammed the mayor for having “disgraced this entire village” and being a “stain on our community.”

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Earlier this week it was reported that the FBI is investigating the mayor, as six individuals have reportedly spoken to the agency about her alleged misconduct, including “business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials.” 

The self-proclaimed “Super Mayor,” who insists “God chose me” and met with President Biden in January, has been said to engage in such wild antics it is like a “real life Parks and Rec situation.” But her multitudes of alleged misdeeds could finally be catching up to her.

DEMOCRATIC MAYOR ACCUSED OF ANTICS SO WILD SHE DESERVES HER OWN TV SHOW: ‘REAL LIFE PARKS & REC SITUATION’

Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard has faced numerous controversies in the past few weeks since she met with President Biden, ranging from fiery tirades in public meetings to allegedly weaponizing police against businesses that refused to donate to her causes of choice. (Village of Dolton YouTube channel )

Henyard and her allies’ history of suspicious taxpayer spending

From first-class flights to Las Vegas to beauty vendors, Henyard is frequently called out by her colleagues for questionable spending of taxpayers’ money, possibly for her own benefit. She makes $285,000 from her positions both as Dolton mayor and Thornton township supervisor.

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Henyard reportedly has a $224,000 a year salary as township supervisor alone, but has put forth an ordinance to cut the salary of any non-incumbent supervisor to $25,000.

Municipal attorney Burt Odelson, said to represent Henyard’s political opposition, condemned this as “so illegal in so many ways,” telling FOX 32 such conduct “violates so many tenets of the law.” 

Aside from her personal income, the way she allegedly uses the town’s money has been a consistent source of controversy. While Henyard has denied using village credit cards, WGN Investigates said it obtained copies of the township’s credit card statements indicating village officials spent more than $24,000 at restaurants during a 12-month span, as well as $3,741 just on Henyard taking a round trip flight to Las Vegas. 

Henyard is also well-known for using a makeup artist, hairdresser and stylist before public appearances and photoshoots. Residents complain she puts up town billboards to promote herself personally, and she has produced music videos that feature city workers, such as police dancing or boosting her image by being in the background as she lip-syncs songs. 

Tiffany Henyard gets her hair and makeup professionally done.  (stylemebrandon | Instagram/screenshot)

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CONTROVERSIAL MAYOR POSTS VIDEO WITH BIDEN JUST DAYS AFTER RIPPING COLLEAGUES FOR ‘ATTACKING ON A BLACK WOMAN’

Accusations of weaponizing police raids, political retaliation

On Tuesday, a Dolton-based U-Haul rental and trucking business owner named Lawrence Gardner told FOX 32 he went to the FBI out of frustration that the Village of Dolton would not renew his business license. He claims he has suffered from harassment, a raid on his business and was shut down by Dolton police. Gardner believes it is retaliation after he refused to donate to a civic event sponsored by Henyard.

FOX 32 reported Wednesday that multiple bars in the town were raided by police the day after the news team visited the businesses amid allegations their licenses were being held up for political reasons. The raids reportedly occurred mere hours after FOX 32’s report about the alleged FBI investigation into Henyard’s conduct was released.  

Employees and owners of the bars reportedly claimed “it’s part of an ongoing campaign of harassment by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard” and that “Their business licenses have been stripped by Dolton, but they’ve continued to operate with a state license.”

Tammie Brown, a Dolton Trustee, was quoted in the same report as saying the raids were a warning to other businesses, “I’m sure that they were asked to donate [to Henyard], make a donation, and most likely they didn’t make a donation. So you don’t get a chance to stay open if you don’t pay the queen’s ransom.”

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Dolton, Illinois Mayor Tiffany Henyard poses with her local police force in a music video. (Village of Dolton music video)

The Village of Dolton defended the legitimacy of the raids in a statement to FOX 32, arguing both businesses had their liquor licenses previously revoked, and had “a history of violent incidents.”

Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal police security

In addition to the raids and music videos, Henyard’s use of the police as her personal security has been a source of controversy as well. 

Henyard spends hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on security, which effectively takes police officers off the streets who should be protecting the town, Dolton Trustee Brittney Norwood said.

“I think that she spends the money on security because she just loves it. She likes the thought of being surrounded by police officers. I think it makes her feel more important,” Norwood said. “The police are simply working under her instructions, but it’s also sad. It’s sad because we need the police patrolling the streets, and they’re with her instead.”

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Former Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins, who was fired by Henyard, also slammed the mayor for maintaining a security detail of “several officers” whom he argues could be out fighting crime, but are instead “sent out to run errands, do pick-ups, do drop-offs.”

Cancer charity crackdown and questions

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is reportedly cracking down on “The Tiffany Henyard CARES Foundation” which, per the acronym, stands for Cancer And Remission Empowering Survivors.

The Chicago Tribune on Thursday reported that Henyard’s charity “has been told by the Illinois attorney general’s office to stop soliciting or accepting contributions, and that it must register with the state.” The same outlet summarized that the mayor was told her charity “is not in good standing and states the attorney general has sent multiple letters advising, among other things, that it is not registered with the state.”

The letter reportedly warned that “to avoid further action by this office,” the charity must file a registration statement, copies of financial reports and a list of the organization’s officers and/or directors by March 13.

Wild tirades and ‘abusive’ rhetoric towards other officials

Henyard is also infamous for her fiery rhetoric toward the town’s trustees in public meetings.

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Fox News Digital reported that Henyard slammed her fellow officials at a meeting in early February about her spending when she declared, “You all forget I’m the leader. They want to hear from the mayor. You all ain’t learned that yet. The mayor, not the trustees that don’t do nothing. They only run their mouth. You all don’t do no work, no work!”

Later during the meeting, Henyard proclaimed, “Y’all got false narratives out there, and y’all should be ashamed of y’all selves. Y’all Black. Y’all are Black! And y’all sitting up here beating and attacking on a Black woman that’s in power. Y’all should be ashamed of y’all selves.”

Norwood told Fox News Digital in an interview, “I feel as if I’m in a dictatorship.” 

She added, “The way she talks [to the trustees] I sometimes feel as if I’m in a mentally abusive relationship… I’ve learned to expect her to be disrespectful. She’s like a bully.” 

Norwood is party to a lawsuit that accused the mayor of actions that amounted to “fraud,” according to a complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

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Henyard was sued for alleged financial wrongdoing by Dolton Trustees on Dec. 23.

“The Defendant’s actions as alleged constitute a fraud upon the residents and taxpayers of the Village,” the lawsuit states. It added, the extent of the financial wrongdoing could be more extensive than is currently alleged as Henyard was allegedly concealing the information from the trustees. 

Henyard, the Village of Dolton, and police department did not respond to requests for comment.

Fox News’ Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.

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Detroit, MI

Metro Detroit weather forecast, July 10, 2026 — 11 p.m. Update

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Metro Detroit weather forecast, July 10, 2026  — 11 p.m. Update


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Milwaukee, WI

Festivalgoers say Milwaukee’s summer events fill a gap in downtown entertainment

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Festivalgoers say Milwaukee’s summer events fill a gap in downtown entertainment


MILWAUKEE — Bastille Days and Festa Italiana are filling downtown Milwaukee with live music, food and large crowds this weekend.

For many, events like these are a summer tradition.

“The festivals for the summertime-they’re something to do like almost every single day and almost most definitely every single week,” Natara Riley said.

But some festivalgoers say outside of these big events, downtown’s entertainment scene isn’t what it used to be.

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“I grew up partying on Water Street. I won’t go there no more at all,” Leandra Wohner said.

“I think it’s the city is not upkeeping the entertainment that people need to have fun. So when something does happen, like Bastille Days or other festivals, a lot of people tend to go to it because there’s not a lot of room for like activities for people,” Riley said.

Watch: Festivalgoers say Milwaukee’s summer events fill a gap in downtown entertainment

It’s a weekend of festivals in downtown Milwaukee

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Festivalgoers say events like these give people a chance to enjoy live music, support local vendors, and try new foods — all in an environment they feel is well organized.

“I feel like it’s safe. They block off the roads, especially where there’s a lot of people walking around, and you know, parking wasn’t hard to find either. So it’s very-I want to say-I feel like it’s very well put together,” Dana Garcia said.

For those who may be hesitant about coming downtown, Emma Maertz offered this encouragement.

“If you never give it a chance, you never discover all the wonderful little vibrant things out here on the streets, and so I’d say give it a chance. You know, come down, see what it’s like, walk around, try out a street festival, park a few blocks away, and explore a new area,” Maertz said.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis police highlight missing person found by drone as city weighs aerial tech program

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Minneapolis police highlight missing person found by drone as city weighs aerial tech program


Minneapolis police officers and a K-9 had been looking for a man for about three-and-a-half hours. A drone found him nine minutes after it launched. 

That’s according to a police report documenting the search for 82-year-old Bob Stewart, a Marine veteran who had gone missing after he went for a walk on the city’s north side. His wife began to get worried when he didn’t return home back in May. 

“It was frightening, though. I remember just thinking, ‘This can’t be how this ends. This just can’t be,’” Linda Stewart said. 

Bob said that he had fallen into Shingle Creek in Webber Park in north Minneapolis. 

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“[I] slipped right in the mud, and gravel, and water and everything, slid right in. Lay there for about, on and off, five hours,” Bob Stewart said. 

The drone operator for the Minneapolis Police Department wrote in his report that he spotted Bob Stewart after noticing an “anomaly” through the vegetation in a densely wooded area of the park. It was Bob Stewart, trying to climb out. With the drone operator keeping an eye on him from above, officers on the ground got to him. 

“We’re both very faithful people and believe that everything happens for a reason, so I was praying, Bob was praying,” Linda Stewart said. 

The couple is overjoyed that everyone got home safe, saying they have no interest in the politics involved in police using drones. 

Minneapolis police are citing the May incident as a positive example of how the technology can be used to keep the public safe. This week, MPD presented information to the City Council about trying out a drones-as-first-responders program. The key difference is that, at the moment, police can launch a drone at the scene from a vehicle once they’ve already arrived at an emergency. If adopted, the first responder program would send a drone in response to an emergency call ahead of officers, allowing them to start documenting the scene far faster. 

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Officials say it would be a free 75-day trial period in the 4th Precinct with the company Skydio, Inc., and the drones would have police markings and flash red and blue lights. They say the goal is to see if drones can improve emergency response times, make both the public and the first responders safer and help clear calls when police aren’t needed.

Several other Minnesota agencies already use the drones, including in St. Paul and Minnetonka, but Minneapolis residents pushed back Wednesday, expressing concerns about surveillance and the company the city could potentially contract with. 

Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the part of Minneapolis where the pilot program would be launched, said she supports the measure. She says that she has been talking to constituents about this for at least a few years.

“I went to a demo and I was like, ‘Wow, let’s try this,’” Vetaw said. “This footage is going to be deleted after seven days if it’s not used in an investigation. This is stored with MPD. This is not Skydio’s footage. This is MPD’s footage.” 

The council is set to take a vote on the pilot program on Thursday.

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