Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author:

State funds to Dolton cut as embattled ‘supermayor’ Tiffany Henyard tries to reinstate indicted police chief

State funds to Dolton cut as embattled ‘supermayor’ Tiffany Henyard tries to reinstate indicted police chief

The Illinois State Comptroller Office has stopped some funds being allocated to the Village of Dolton over its alleged failure to submit financial records, the latest twist in an ongoing saga where controversial Mayor Tiffany Henyard has been accused of misdeeds, excessive spending and allegations of corruption. The move comes amid reports that the self-described “supermayor” reappointed a fired deputy police chief to lead the department after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on bankruptcy fraud charges, while the state comptroller also says that Dolton’s village clerk informed the office that it had been ordered to not reply to any Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza has immediately suspended all “offset” funds to the village, saying it has been delinquent in annual reports including financial statements, audits, and Tax Increment Financing District reports over the last two years. Offset monies are collected from state payments that the comptroller’s office withholds from people who owe fines like traffic tickets or other payments to municipalities, including Dolton. POLICE ALLY OF SCANDAL-RIDDEN MAYOR TIFFANY HENYARD INDICTED ON BANKRUPTCY FRAUD CHARGES “When municipalities around Illinois are having legitimate problems filing their annual reports with us, based on staffing or other issues, we earnestly work with them to get them into compliance,” Mendoza said in a statement.  “Dolton is different. The Mayor’s office has refused to communicate with us or address the problem. If Mayor Henyard refuses to follow state law, my office will use the tools at our disposal to safeguard the interests of Dolton’s citizens.” Mendoza said in the statement that her office has repeatedly notified Dolton of the delinquency over the last two years. Last week, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released her preliminary findings into the town’s finances, revealing that in April 2022, Dolton’s general fund balance was $5.61 million, but by May 2024, the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.  Lightfoot also disclosed that Henyard used the village credit card to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair and other retailers. One jaw-dropping statement revealed that the embattled mayor had dropped $33,000 on Jan. 5, 2023 on Amazon.  Last year, the Illinois State Comptroller sent Dolton $120,000 in offset from state payments to residents such as income tax refunds and lottery winnings, Mendoza said. This year, the village is on track to receive about $135,000. CONTROVERSIAL MAYOR POSTS VIDEO WITH BIDEN JUST DAYS AFTER RIPPING COLLEAGUES FOR ‘ATTACKING ON A BLACK WOMAN’ The Illinois State Comptroller said that if Dolton continues failing to file reports, it will initiate forced audits and fines, per state statute. “Our office can assess fines of approximately $7,000 per year per unfiled report, totaling $78,600 for Dolton as of today,” the statement reads.  “That would be in addition to the roughly $135,000 the Village of Dolton could lose in offset fines our office sends the village on an annual basis if its administration does not resume filing reports.” The village last filed its 2021 reports in 2022, but the 2022 and 2023 reports are unfiled and delinquent, the state comptroller says.  The Illinois state comptroller also says that Dolton’s village clerk, Allison Key, emailed the auditing body to say she was told by administrator Keith Freeman that she cannot comply with FOIA requests.  “Freeman has illegally removed me as FOIA officer without board of trustees’ knowledge or vote of approval,” Key wrote in the undated email. “He has continued to interfere with the FOIA process for the past 2 years.”  Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud earlier this year, and he and Henyard have appeared to have a falling out, with Henyard saying earlier this month that he was fired, but trustees opposed the move.  FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT HIRED TO INVESTIGATE SO-CALLED ‘WORST MAYOR IN AMERICA’ AT $400 AN HOUR Meanwhile, according to WGN, Henyard is reported to have told officers they are to continue obeying orders from former Deputy Chief of Police Lewis Lacey, who was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on bankruptcy fraud charges, in a case unrelated to the town’s finances. He pleaded not guilty Thursday. Separately, he has been accused of receiving more than $200,000 in overtime since 2022, per the outlet.  Lacey was fired last week as the town’s deputy police chief to save costs during a contentious village board meeting involving Henyard, Fox 32 Chicago reports.  “Stop playing these silly games,” Henyard was heard telling police officers on Thursday in a video obtained by WGN. Lacey then seemed to tell the assembled staff to fall in line or risk consequences. “Do what you want; but anything after this is insubordination,” he said per the outlet.  The accusations of financial misdeeds in Dolton have prompted an ongoing FBI investigation. The reports have been a pressure point for the city, which has a population of slightly more than 20,000, according to a July 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. She has been called a dictator by some locals. Henyard, who typically speaks into a golden microphone at meetings, has also come under fire for an alleged sexual assault by one of her allies during a Las Vegas trip, where the alleged victim claims to have been fired after speaking out. Henyard’s cancer charity is also facing scrutiny while FOIA documents revealed she paid a stylist $7,650, over six transactions between April 6 and June 5, 2023. Fox News Digital previously reported that Henyard has been living like a royal with a combined salary of nearly $300,000 — more than the state’s governor — despite the 23,000 residents of the Illinois town having a median income of $24,000. In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Henyard after six people had reportedly spoken to the agency about her alleged misconduct, including “business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials.”  In April, the FBI served two federal subpoenas as part of an investigation. Henyard was not served. The first one was for employment records, personnel files and disciplinary reports for 25 Dolton employees, including three police officers and

House Oversight investigating Walz over ‘longstanding connections’ to China

House Oversight investigating Walz over ‘longstanding connections’ to China

EXCLUSIVE: The House Oversight Committee is investigating Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and his alleged “longstanding connections” to China and CCP-linked entities, Fox News Digital has learned.  Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., penned to FBI Director Christopher Wray, notifying the bureau of the committee’s investigation into Walz.  “The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting a government-wide investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s political warfare operations against America and the response from federal agencies,” he wrote. “Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced her vice presidential running mate, Timothy Walz, the current governor of Minnesota.”  WALZ BACKED ‘SANCTUARY’ POLICIES, SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS GOVERNOR: ‘WIN FOR OPEN BORDERS’  Comer said that the committee had been briefed by the FBI on April 22 and July 17 — both briefings occurred before Walz was named Harris’ running mate.  However, Comer said that FBI briefers told the committee that the bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force “investigates exactly the kind of activity that has since come to light about Governor Walz.”  Comer is now seeking information about the Chinese entities and officials Walz has “engaged and partnered with,” as well as any “warnings or advice the FBI may have given to Governor Walz about U.S. political figures being targeted by or recruited for CCP influence operations.”  Comer said Walz has “longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible” to the CCP’s strategy of “elite capture,” which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to “influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.”  Comer pointed to reports of Walz’s “extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office,” saying it raises questions about “possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor — and, should he be elected, as vice president.”  “Recent reporting reveals that Governor Walz has concerning ties to the People’s Republic of China,” Comer wrote. Comer pointed to reports that suggest that while Walz was a teacher in the early 1990s, he organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students, where the costs were reportedly “paid by the Chinese government.”   “In 1994, Mr. Walz set up a private company named ‘Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,’ which coordinated annual student trips to the PRC until 2003, and was led by Mr. Walz himself,” Comer wrote, adding that the corporation was “reportedly dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007.”  KAMALA HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE TIM WALZ PICTURED IN 1995 NEBRASKA MUGSHOT AFTER DUI ARREST Comer also said Walz has traveled to China an estimated “30 times.”  “In its investigation, the Committee has highlighted the importance of U.S. officials being cognizant of CCP political and psychological warfare efforts that seek to threaten national security,” Comer wrote.  Comer then pointed to Walz’s time in Congress, noting he served as a fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University — a Chinese institution that characterizes itself as having a “long-held devotion to and love for the motherland.”  “At the time he disclosed serving as a Macau fellow, Mr. Walz also had significant credit card debt,” Comer wrote, noting that in 2019, Walz headlined the 27th National Convention for the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association in Minnesota. “Governor Walz spoke alongside the president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which, a year later, the Department of State exposed as ‘a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,’ including efforts to ‘directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda,’” Comer wrote.  Comer said Walz himself has “admitted that he does not ‘fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship.’”  “Despite bipartisan efforts to identify and defeat CCP unrestricted warfare against America, Governor Walz continues problematic engagement with concerning entities and individuals,” Comer wrote.  Comer also pointed to a March 2024 meeting Walz had with Consul General Zhao Jian to discuss “China-U.S. relations and sub-national cooperation.” WALZ IN 2010 SAID PLAN TO CURB SOCIAL SECURITY, INCREASE RETIREMENT AGE WAS ‘VERY SIMILAR’ TO HIS APPROACH “Despite his knowledge and condemnation of communist China’s human rights violations, Governor Walz has said he ‘applaud[s] the accomplishments of the Chinese people and recognize[s] that some in the Chinese Government advocate for greater rule of law,’” Comer wrote.  Comer is now requesting that the FBI assist in the committee’s investigation by providing documents and information related to any Chinese entity or individual with whom Walz may have engaged or partnered.  Comer is also asking for any records between the FBI and Walz, or his gubernatorial office pertaining to warnings or guidance about subnational government officials engaging with the PRC, CCP and the CCP’s proxies.  Comer, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said “the CCP has sought to destroy the United States through coordinated influence and infiltration campaigns that target every aspect of American life, including our own elected officials.”  “Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China,” Comer said. “Mr. Walz has visited China dozens of times, served as a fellow at a Chinese institution that maintains a devotion to the CCP, and spoke alongside the President of a Chinese organization the State Department exposed as a CCP effort to influence and co-opt local leaders.”  Comer added, “FBI briefers recently informed the Committee that the Bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force investigates CCP activity that is similar to China’s engagement with Governor Walz.”  “The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walz’s relationship with China goes,” Comer told Fox News Digital.  The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

RFK denies report that he asked for position in Harris cabinet

RFK denies report that he asked for position in Harris cabinet

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is denying reports that he sought a position in a hypothetical Democratic administration. Kennedy was accused this week of reaching out to Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’ team to discuss the possibility of working inside a future Cabinet — the claim appeared in a report from the Washington Post. “That’s fake news. I didn’t ask Kamala Harris for a Cabinet position but I’ve reached out to all the candidates. I’ve met with some,” Kennedy told guests during his “TikTok Town Hall” live-streamed event. BIDEN SAYS HARRIS ‘NOT GOING TO’ DISTANCE HERSELF FROM HIS ECONOMIC POLICIES The independent candidate claimed that he had met with all other candidates in the presidential election — specifically mentioning a meeting with Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver. “I wanted to meet with all the candidates to talk about dampening down the rhetoric and unifying our country and also talk about some of the issues — ending the wars, et cetera.” Kennedy said he wasn’t sure he would be able to serve in a Harris-Walz administration unless “a lot of different changes” were made. RFK JR. DISQUALIFIED FROM NEW YORK BALLOT, USED ‘SHAM’ ADDRESS FOR RESIDENCY, JUDGE RULES “The other candidates have met with me, Kamala Harris has said she doesn’t want to,” Kennedy said. “I believe it would be tough for me to work with their administration unless they committed to a lot of different changes.” The report from the Washington Post on Wednesday claimed Kennedy — whose long-shot bid for president took a hit earlier this week when a judge ruled his name should not appear on New York’s ballot — sought out a meeting with Harris in hopes of landing a potential Cabinet secretary position in her future administration.  Kennedy was previously recorded on video speaking to former President Trump during a meeting at last month’s convention in Milwaukee, in which Trump appeared to allude to potential positions in his administration. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nevertheless, Kennedy has continued to campaign and make regular media appearances with the expectation that he can win the election, the report notes, though he has left open the possibility of meeting with or getting out of the way of either Harris or Trump if they share an openness about his vision for the country. Polling has shown Kennedy is one of the most disruptive independent candidates in decades in both breadth of appeal and commitment of his supporters. Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.