Alright, folks, if you thought local politics was boring, think again—because things are wild in Dolton, Illinois. Mayor Tiffany Henyard, already drowning in scandals, is now facing fresh lawsuits over a literal brawl that broke out at a township board meeting in January. And we’re not talking about some mild-mannered policy dispute—this was an all-out fight, complete with punches thrown, microphones wielded as weapons, and security just standing around watching.
Two men, Lavell Redmond and Jedidiah Brown, have filed lawsuits against Henyard and several others, alleging that the fight was retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Brown, a vocal critic of Henyard, had just finished a fiery speech against the self-proclaimed “super mayor,” punctuated by the words: “you gone, b—-.” And that’s when things erupted.
Enter Kamal Woods—Henyard’s boyfriend, who is also named in both lawsuits. Apparently, he didn’t take too kindly to Brown’s comments and things got physical. In bystander video, Woods and Brown are seen throwing punches, while Henyard herself runs into the fray. Now, was she trying to break it up, or was she in the fight? That’s unclear. But what is clear is that she’s being accused of swinging her microphone at both Brown and Redmond.
Redmond’s lawsuit states that he was actually trying to de-escalate the situation before Woods started throwing punches. When that failed, Redmond says he hit Woods in self-defense. Meanwhile, security and local police? They apparently just stood there and let the chaos unfold.
If this was just an isolated incident, it would be bad enough. But let’s be real—Henyard is no stranger to controversy. In fact, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot just torched Henyard in a scathing report, accusing her of massive financial mismanagement.
According to Lightfoot’s findings, Henyard’s administration engaged in a “systemic effort” to cover up overspending. The biggest red flag? City credit card spending exploded to $779,638 in 2023, with almost no oversight. And where did some of that money go? How about luxury trips to Las Vegas in both 2022 and 2023?
Now, maybe Henyard could argue that these trips were for business development, but Lightfoot’s report shuts that down fast: “There is no evidence that any business development opportunities came to the village as a result of either of these two trips.” Translation? Taxpayers just footed the bill for a Vegas getaway.
And if that wasn’t enough, just days before Lightfoot’s report dropped, Henyard was found in contempt of court for refusing to sign a liquor license for a local restaurant—even though she repeatedly promised she would.
