Mayor Tiffany Henyard of Dolton, Illinois, and supervisor of Thornton Township, has been a controversial figure since taking office in 2021. Henyard’s term in office has been compared to the sitcom Parks and Recreation, and she’s been described as acting, and even dressing, like New Jack City villain Nino Brown at a public function. She’s been called the “mafia mayor” for reportedly engaging in what seems like shakedowns, soliciting donations from local businesses and interfering with their ability to do business if they won’t pay. Henyard has said all the allegations are lies and distortions created by political rivals and those offended that a Black woman is in a position of power.
Henyard, the youngest mayor and first-ever woman mayor for Dolton, sat down for an exclusive interview with Blavity to address the allegations, open up about the threats against her and discuss successes and accomplishments.
“I’ve never saw those shows or sitcoms. It’s sad that people would use those things as a smokescreen,” she said.
The New Jack City reference is another distortion, according to Henyard.
“I’ve never done Nino Brown. I’ve done Martin,” adding that she wore a costume based on Martin Lawrence’s TV series during a post-election function for a candidate she supported. She said everybody laughed at her portrayal of the sitcom character.
Henyard denies allegations of using her power to harass local businesses that did not support her.
“They are false,” she said plainly about the allegations. “I get [the] First Amendment, but you should fact-check before you air it on a national platform.”
She pledges to use her new podcast, Tiffany Henyard On Tha Move, premiering on Spotify, to educate the public and dispel rumors and accusations against her.
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One of the prominent allegations involves a charity that bears Henyard’s name, Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation. As the charity has been accused of concealing what it’s done with the money it’s raised, Henyard has distanced herself from the organization. Through multiple questions about the charity, her attachment to the organization that bears her name remains unclear.
“I am not involved,” she claimed, specifying, “I am not on any board as it relates to the charity. I couldn’t tell you their day-to-day as it relates to the charity, but I do support everyone that is involved with a charity that relates to cancer,” referencing her mother’s battle against cancer.
When asked how a charity can operate in her name without her involvement, Henyard stated, “I appreciate anyone who utilizes my name.”
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However, she did not elaborate on how the charity was founded in her name. She emphasized that her jobs are mayor and supervisor, not running any charities.
“I can’t answer to what nobody else does,” she said.
Shifting to the discussion that she has abused her security detail, taking police resources off the streets, Henyard emphasized, “I get threats all the time.”
Screenshots of multiple emails with racist, misogynistic insults and threats were shared with Blavity ahead of our conversation with the mayor.
“I am a young, African American woman that has seats that have never been done; I’m the first in both seats,” she added.
Henyard also characterized the online talk about her as “cyberbullying.” But she is adamant that these challenges won’t stop her from achieving her goals for the community, which include a mental health outreach program for local youth, opening a second police station and reopening a community pool as well as other public facilities.
There is no doubt that Henyard has had the support of the public, winning election in February 2021 with 82 percent of the vote. She’s cited how she’s brought $20 million in investments to Dolton, including $3 million in ARPA grant funds for operative funds and a $2 million IEPA grant to improve water system quality.
The funds are also said to be used for to “produce violence prevention programs, capital improvements, infrastructure improvements, [and] operating expenses including but not limited to the Senior & Veteran Roof and Window Program and the initiation of a digital water meter installation.”
Another allegation is that Henyard has taken expensive trips using taxpayer money, which allowed the mayor to tout her accomplishments and her vision for her job.
“What the media did not tell the world is that it’s in our budget; we can travel to anywhere as long as it’s a conference that is about business,” she remarked.
She defended her travel as visits to attract economic investments for the Chicago Southland area she represents.
The mayor also noted her goals to bring a trauma center and sit-down restaurants to the community. Similarly, she defended posting several taxpayer-funded billboards featuring her name and face.
“I’m not running for anything right now,” she defended against charges of self-promoting. “It’s nothing illegal about having a billboard. What we are advertising are services: transportation, food department, things like that, our food pantry.”
Overall, Henyard comes across as defiant, unapologetic and unconventional.
“I know I have to work on my ‘we’ statements,” she said at one point, noting how she speaks of herself sometimes in the third person when talking about city accomplishments.
She also calls herself the “super mayor” and dismisses the multiple allegations against her as hostility toward her as a young Black woman who is a successful politician.
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“People are trying to put a black light over the beacon of light, which is myself, and it’s not working,” she said.
