several new developments in South Suburban Dalton today first the state Coller has suspended some payments to the Village because it has failed to follow the law by providing Financial reports that one way that uh the government always does it is to go and investigate people around her and that's what they're doing here is it even possible for a mayor to act like a diva on a world stage Tiffany henard is making it seem so for anyone who's been paying attention to the drama unfolding in dton Illinois it feels like the plot of a soap opera more than anything resembling actual politics but here we are living through it and things are spiraling further out of control for the embattled mayor henyard has taken audacity to new heights blatantly flaunting her power and humiliating her own citizens in ways that would make a dictator blush but the clock is ticking and rumors are swirling that an arrest warrant is on the horizon how did we get here and what's next in this wild Saga deep debt and that is the finding of an investigation of Village finances and the spending habits of bleuer mayor Tiffany henyard henards rise to power seemed almost too good to be true a young ambitious woman breaking barriers as the first female mayor of Dotan promising change and a fresh start for the village but as the saying goes power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely from the get-go henyard seemed to take more than a few liberties with her Newfound influence but as the walls begin to close in she's desperately trying to pin all the blame on her once loyal assistant Keith Freeman Freeman now turned whistleblower isn't going down alone and the juicy details of their partnership are unraveling in a way that no one saw coming let's rewind to when things seemed relatively under control or at least when henyard managed to keep her misdeeds under wraps up until recently she had a smooth enough operation sure there were Whispers but nothing that seemed like it would blow up in her face even as the rumors started trickling in about her extravagant spending habits luxury scvs first class flights and fine dining all at the expense of Dalton's taxpayers henyard had a way of brushing it all off it was almost like she believed her own hype that she could actually get away with it some insiders even claimed she was already hinting at a second term confident that her charm and power would be enough to gloss over any minor misunderstandings is there a motion to terminate Keith Freeman but let's not forget the key player in this drama Keith Freeman the assistant who once stood loyally by her side for years Freeman was hen yard's right-hand man the one who supposedly made things happen behind the scenes and for a while it worked together they managed to maintain a facade of normaly even as Financial records and credit card statements started showing up with some very questionable charges first class flights high-end hotels like the Four Seasons and dining at fancy restaurants all of these expenses were hidden under the guise of attending conferences but now it's all coming back to bite her and Freeman's cooperation with Federal authorities is the final mail in the coffin no reason for anyone from a Township to go to a mayor's conference a mayor's conference is a mayor's conference for Mayors sources close to the situation say that Freeman has started spilling the beans in exchange for leniency and the information he's providing paints a damning picture hen Ard of course is doing everything she can to deflect the blame according to her Freeman was the one who made all the decisions regarding these extravagant expenditures she's positioning herself as a naive newcomer someone who didn't quite understand how things were done in Dolton and was just following Freeman's lead it's almost laughable really she's the mayor yet she wants people to believe she had no clue that spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on a 5day trip to Austin Texas wasn't above board but here's where things get really interesting penyard might be trying to pass the buck but the cracks in her Empire are widening there are Whispers that others in her Inner Circle those who've benefited from her time in office are now Jumping Ship they've seen the writing on the wall and they're not about to go down with the ship more people are reportedly cooperating with authorities and the information they're providing is only adding to the mountain case against 10 yard it's almost as if everyone who once helped her build her so-called Empire is now tearing it down from the inside who would make a one day well one-day purchase of over $40,000 to Amazon and the main thing is what is it penyard strategy of blaming Freeman is not just weak it's downright insulting to anyone with half a brain the fact that she's been a trustee for the village for eight years prior to becoming mayor makes it impossible to believe that she was just a coolest puppet she knew exactly what was going on and she actively participated in it the luxury SUVs the $47,000 trips the the $25,000 in unexplained credit card charges all of it points to a pattern of Reckless and self-indulgent behavior that she now has to answer for and let's not forget her personal photographer who build the village $3,400 for capturing those Oh So Glamorous moments of her public service we needed those officers to be on the street fighting crime and instead we have several officers that are riding around protecting the M the most damning aspect of this whole Scandal isn't even the money it's the sheer arrogance with which henyard has conducted herself while the people of Dolton struggle with a crumbling infrastructure Rising crime rates and financial instability their mayor has been living it up like a celebrity and it's not just about the money it's about the lack of accountability the refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing and the blatant disregard for the people she was elected to serve I'm sure you guys had an awesome time on the backs of taxpayers but what do we gain from any of these trips we gain nothing let's talk about the bigger picture how did someone like Tiffany henyard manage to climb to the top in the first place well it wasn't without controversy before she was mayor henard had already shown signs of a less than Stellar track record in 2016 she was arrested for Criminal Trespass to Vehicles a minor incident perhaps but one that speaks to a pattern of questionable Behavior but that didn't stop her from eventually winning the marro race in 2021 becoming the first woman to hold the office in doltan she was young ambitious and promised to bring change to the struggling Village but change change it seems came in the form of lining her own pockets and using her position to live a life of luxury under her leadership Dalton has gone from bad to worse the village is now saddled with millions of dollars in debt and the financial mismanagement under hen yard's watch is nothing short of catastrophic the lavish spending on herself and her Entourage has left The Village's coffers nearly empty with little to show for it meanwhile essential Services have been neglected and the people of Dalton are paying the price it's almost surreal how much she's managed to get away with so far for a while it seemed like she was Untouchable Above the Law even but the tide is turning and the federal authorities are closing in the FBI has already served subpoenas on both the village of Dalton and thoron Township where henyard also serves as supervisor they're digging deep into our financial records looking for evidence of corruption fraud and other criminal activities and from what's being reported they're finding plenty hey guys this is super mayor TIY a the people's mayor and people supervisor one of the most shocking aspects of this whole Saga is the way henyard has weaponized the police force to serve her own interests it's one thing to misuse public funds but it's another level of corruption to turn the police into your personal security detail under her watch the police budget has ballooned with hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on overtime pay for officers who were essentially acting as her bodyguards and it's not just about the money this missuse of how has contributed to a riseing crime in the village as resources that should have been used to protect the public were instead diverted to protect henyard but it SS my heart that you are up here at this special meeting and not downstairs uh where we have big Bingo pinard's abuse of power doesn't stop there she's also been accused of using her position to retaliate against anyone who crosses her former allies who dared to speak out against her have found themselves on the receiving end of her wrath fired demoted or otherwise pushed out and who does she replace them with people with their own Shady pasts of course take for example lisis Lacy the deputy police chief she so determined to keep in power despite his own legal troubles Lacy who has been indicted on charges of bankruptcy fraud is just one of many questionable characters henyard has surrounded herself with and then there's her so-called charity Tiffany henyard cares the name alone is laughable given what we now know about her priorities this charity which supposedly helps people battling cancer has been another way for henyard to funnel public money into her own Pockets thousands of dollars have been spent on meals hotel rooms and other expenses under the guise of charitable events money that should have gone to helping those in need but instead went to furthering henyard own lavish Lifestyle the Illinois Attorney General's office has even threatened legal action against the charity for failing to file required Financial disclosures adding yet another layer of Scandal to henards already tarnished reputation but what's most telling is the way henyard has responded to the growing pressure instead of showing any remorse or acknowledging her mistakes she's doubled down lashing out at her critics and portraying herself as a victim She's accused the media of spreading fake news and has gone so far as to call the investigations against her a political Witch Hunt it's a classic tactic shift the blame create a distraction and hope that the truth gets buried in the chaos but it's not working and the people of doton are fed up you know wrong is wrong and there's a time to hold people responsible and accountable for their action even her closest supporters are starting to turn against her trustees who once stood by her are now openly challenging her decisions voting to regulate the budgets for the extravagant events she loves to throw and questioning the spending on her lab trips at a recent meeting one trustee didn't hold back calling out henards behavior and demanding answers but instead of addressing the concerns henyard dismissed them ridiculing the trustee and showing just how out of touch she's become at this point it's hard to see how henyard can come back from this the legal troubles are mounting her Inner Circle is crumbling and the people she was elected to serve are calling for her resignation but in typical henyard fashion she's not going down without a fight she's still clinging to power using every trick in the book to try and saave off the inevitable but with an arrest warrant reportedly in the works and more and more people cooperating with the feds it's only a matter of time before her house of cards comes crashing down so what do you all think is Tiffany henyard going to face Justice or will she find a way to escape yet another Scandal Do you believe her defense that she was just following her assistant lead or is this all part of a bigger plan to deflect blame let us know your thoughts in the comments below until next time