Midwest
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot hired to investigate so-called 'worst mayor in America' at $400 an hour
The Village of Dolton in Illinois voted Monday to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a “Special Investigator” to look into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
Starting Tuesday, Lightfoot will be paid $400 an hour to gather information on Henyard’s alleged spending and finance mismanagement as well as “any state and federal violations.”
Ahead of Monday’s vote, Lightfoot said she understood the residents want to go in a different direction from Henyard, and promised to “follow the facts where they lead.”
L-R: Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard. (Getty Images/Village of Dolton)
At the end of her investigation, Lightfoot will present a report to the Village of Dolton on her findings. The findings in the report will determine what happens beyond that.
Trustees also re-voted on issues the Dolton mayor had previously vetoed and about paying vendors and invoices that have not yet been paid by the Village.
FORMER EMPLOYEE SUING ‘NARCISSITIC’ MAYOR, CLAIMS SHE WAS LOCKED OUT OF OFFICE, DENIED PAY AND FIRED
Monday’s vote was held off-site, at the Park District building since it wasn’t an official Village Board meeting. It was also moved there to accommodate residents who wanted to attend.
The Village of Dolton, Illinois’ monthly town hall meeting once again made headlines last week for fiery confrontations with the scandal-ridden mayor.
Henyard has been accused of misdeeds ranging from weaponizing police in retaliatory business raids to spending taxpayer money on luxuries like traveling to Las Vegas. Last month, Henyard reportedly vetoed the board’s resolution to probe her spending over purported misuse of funds.
While the FBI has allegedly already begun to investigate Henyard for purportedly misusing her local police force, the board’s resolution had called for the FBI to do further investigation into her spending of the town’s money.
Read the full article from Here
Michigan
Podcast: Michigan basketball — recapping an elite season, the portal, who starts at the ‘3,’ more
Michigan finished its best basketball season in program history with a 37-3 record and Big Ten and National Championships under head coach Dusty May. Chris Balas and the Schiller brothers, Jeff and Greg, break down a special year, look ahead to next season, talk portal and more in this podcast.
Head coach Dusty May has been working diligently on finishing his roster, but it’s not as easy as it’s been the last few years. The Wolverines are battling several others for the best of the best in the portal, and while they have two in the fold, they’re still looking for other big fish, as well. When the roster is set, May will be able to look back at the season he accomplished and enjoy it a bit more … it was special.
“The most rewarding part is they never changed,” the Michigan coach said. “We weren’t very good early in the year. The first two exhibitions we beat St. John’s, but they weren’t St. John’s yet, and we didn’t play well, and at that point we considered pivoting and changing our lineup and going in a different direction and maybe admitting failure for our vision.
“Because of our staff — I remember the day like it was yesterday. We were in the conference room and we did a deep dive in everything that you could come up with to try to predict whether we thought it would work. Once we left that meeting, we were more committed than ever that this is going to work, and these are the reasons why. Now … it was like bamboo. We didn’t feel like the bamboo was just going to shoot to the sky the next week in Vegas, but it did, and then it happens quickly where we’re playing that level. That’s typically when it gets more difficult.
“I’ve been an assistant on staffs when you play like that, and that’s when it really gets tough because there’s more attention, there’s more of everything coming at your guys, and for them not to waver on how they continued to give … to me that’s probably the hardest part and most rewarding thing that these guys did.”
Michigan is still waiting on announcements today from Aday Mara and Morez Johnson (NBA likely for Mara, Johnson Jr. “on the fence,” along with a portal announcement from Cincinnati big man Moustapha Thiam. We talk about that and more in today’s podcast.
Minnesota
Locked capitol doors, more security funds are new normal after Minnesota assassination
Nearly a year after the assassination of a Minnesota legislative leader, lawmakers across the U.S. have worked to fortify security in state capitols and improve safeguards when officials are in their communities.
The changes have followed a rise in political violence nationwide that included the stunning assassination last June of Rep. Melissa Hortman, the top Democratic leader in the Minnesota House, and the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was speaking at a college in Utah.
In Minnesota, most doors at the state Capitol are now locked, and people entering must go through weapons detectors. People entering the visitors’ galleries to watch floor debates must go through a second set of detectors.
“It’s important for us to be able to not have our government fall apart if our legislators are under threat,” said Minnesota Rep. Julie Green, a Democrat who sits directly across the aisle from Hortman’s old desk, which remains empty except for fresh roses, her portrait and a speaker’s gavel. “It’s a complicated, complex, very emotional issue, as you can imagine.”
In addition to the killings of Hortman and Kirk, violence targeting political figures in the U.S. in the last few years has included an arson attack last year at the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; an assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in 2024; and a hammer attack on the husband of Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at their California home in 2022.
Twenty-five states, including Minnesota, now formally allow candidates to use campaign funds for personal security. Most made the change after the killings of Kirk and Hortman. Eleven states have laws permitting it, while others have approved it through rules or other mechanisms, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the VoteMama Foundation.
This year alone, Alabama, Oregon, Nebraska and Utah enacted laws allowing campaign funds for security. Bills to legalize it are pending in about a dozen other states.
It’s not just happening at the state level. Security spending for congressional and presidential campaigns has jumped fivefold over the past decade. Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, according to an April report from the nonpartisan Public Service Alliance.
Metal detectors — one of the most visible signs of concerns about political violence — were installed at Alaska’s Capitol last year. Democratic Rep. Sara Hannan said the change was due to “increased risk of violence in our public institutions.” Lawmakers approved them before Hortman was killed.
But some states have balked at making it harder to access the halls of power. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican who knew Hortman, resisted efforts to install metal detectors in his state, saying he didn’t want to “fortify” the Capitol. Wisconsin’s is one of 11 state capitols that don’t have metal detectors, a state audit found.
Minnesota lawmakers are also considering creating a special unit within the State Patrol, which oversees Capitol security, that would provide protection for legislators, the state attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, and Supreme Court justices.
One lead author is Democratic Sen. John Hoffman, who survived being shot nine times the night Hortman was killed. Prosecutors say the gunman, disguised as a police officer, began his rampage by shooting Hoffman and his wife, then stopped at the residences of two other lawmakers who weren’t home. He then went to Hortman’s home, where he killed the representative and her husband, and wounded their dog so severely that he had to be euthanized.
At a hearing Tuesday, Hoffman called his measure “a necessary response” that would “keep elected officials and Supreme Court justices safe and dedicate the resources necessary and hopefully stop future tragedies from happening.”
Numerous states have also taken action to protect lawmakers’ personal information. North Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday discussed a bill draft for next year that would make confidential the home addresses of candidates and public officials upon request.
The NCSL in February created a $1.5 million fund to reimburse legislatures for expenses related to lawmakers’ personal safety and security while they’re away from their statehouses. More than 30 states have applied or are preparing to, NCSL spokesperson Katie Ziegler said.
NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is April 23, 2026.
Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, police launch homicide investigation, after shooting at 55th and Prospect
UPDATE, 12:35 p.m. | Kansas City, Missouri, police say they are in a standoff at a residence believed to have the possible suspect.
EARLIER | Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are investigating a homicide after a shooting Friday morning.
Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department officers were dispatched to the scene just before 10 a.m. Friday near the intersection of 55th and Prospect.
Upon arrival, police found a vehicle in the parking lot of a gas station with an adult male unresponsive inside with apparent gunshot trauma, per KCPD.
The man was declared dead at the scene.
Detectives and officers are working to determine what took place prior to the shooting and identify a person of interest, which is believed to be an adult male, police said.
The incident is being investigated as a homicide at this time.
Officers were also at 55th and Garfield gathering possible evidence and checking for any witnesses, and believe the two scenes may be related.
John Batten | KSHB
Anyone in the area who saw or heard anything is urged to call KCPD homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
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If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
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