America's 'worst mayor' changes her tune in dramatic court hearing into widespread corruption
Henyard, 41, who served as the mayor of Dolton until she was defeated in a landslide election in January, is accused of financial mismanagement, corruption and fraud.
A Cook County judge had told Henyard to appear in court for a grilling about whether she followed transparency laws about spending while she was mayor from 2021.
But on Friday, Henyard's attorney Beau Brindley pleaded the Fifth on her behalf, saying she did not have the records the court had requested.
The Fifth is the right to remain silent - in stark contrast to Henyard's usual outspoken approach as she has been loudly maintaining her innocence throughout the trial.
Henyard previously said she was only 'the face of the village' and not its record keeper in response to criticism about her failure to produce the documents.
The lawsuit against her was launched by the Edgar County Watchdogs, who sued the Village of Dolton after her administration ignored Freedom of Information Act requests last year.
Brindley said Henyard does not have the document they requested. 'She has no idea what that document was,' he said.
'She's going back to some board meeting where they say she held up a single piece of paper.
'I don't know how and couldn't expect her to remember what that was given how many meetings there have been and how much chaos there was in Dolton.'
Brindley advised Henyard to plead the Fifth in this case because she is also the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation into her spending.
Independent investigators allege that Henyard mismanaged millions of dollars worth of taxpayer funds during her controversial tenure as the mayor of Dolton.
'At least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public,' former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a meeting announcing the findings.
Lightfoot's 73-page report explained that there was a whopping $779,638 charged to town credit cards in 2023, with little to no tracking of the actual expenses.
More than $50,000 spent on artificial ice tiles, which could have been used to build the town ice skating rink Henyard promoted on Instagram in February 2023.
At least six government credit cards were also used to pay for glamorous getaways Henyard took to Las Vegas in May 2022 and May 2023, according to the report.
'Financial records from the village and Thornton Township reflect that a number of people traveled to Las Vegas on both of these trips,' Lightfoot said.
'And the expense of their travel, their lodging, their meals and entertainment were paid for on village and township credit cards.'
'There's no evidence that business development opportunities came to the village as a result of either of these two trips,' she concluded, prompting a groan from the audience.
From 2021 through June 2024, credit cards were used for over $171,000 in travel-related expenses, including airfare, baggage fees, hotels, meals and rental cars.
The report also revealed that over $50,000 was spent at local restaurants. Purchases were also made at Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Wayfair, Walgreens, Apple and Walmart.
An additional $218,000 was spent on Amazon over the four-year-span Henyard has been in charge.
There's also evidence that Henyard charged the town more than $7000 for her hair and makeup team, listing it as an 'assistant' cost.
'Many of the credit card expenditures have no accompanying receipt, and the statements alone provide limited information about the purchases,' according to the report.
As a result of this spending frenzy, allegedly done by Henyard, the Dolton Board of Trustees banned her from using town credit cards in August 2024.
The report also alleged that Dolton had a budget surplus of $5.61 million in April 2022 that quickly shrank to a $3.65 million deficit by May 2024.
Lightfoot said Dolton received some $3 million in payments from the American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 stimulus bill signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2021.
According to Lightfoot, hundreds of thousands of the original $3 million in ARPA funds went missing without receipts.
Henyard also failed to appoint an official to oversee the massive sum of money, a requirement put in place by the Treasury Department, Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot was hired in April 2024 to conduct the forensic accounting investigation by Dolton town trustees who want to see Henyard booted out of the job she's held since 2021.
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