NIMH Ep #739 Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s taxpayer-funded billboards raise questions!

NIMH Ep #739
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s taxpayer-funded billboards raise questions!

@kwame.raoul.illinois @tiffanyhenyard

LOCK THIS CROOKED AZZ , TRICK UP!!

DOLTON - If you've driven one of the expressways in Chicago's south suburbs recently, you have no doubt seen one of the giant billboards featuring the name and face of a smiling local politician.

Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's taxpayer-funded billboards raise questions

Another round of controversy in Chicago’s south suburbs, again surrounding Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.

But back to that ordinance—which passed without Gonzalez's support.

"They're like, I can't believe it. How can someone do that?" said Gonzalez.

What the ordinance does is ensure that Henyard continues to receive her $224,000 a year salary as township supervisor. But if a non-incumbent becomes supervisor—in other words, if someone challenges Henyard and beats her—the salary for that position drops to just $25,000 a year, a pay cut of nearly 90%.

Trustee Gonzalez said it's a political poison pill to scare off competition.

"(It) discourages people from running is the first thing that comes to mind," he said.

But perhaps the bigger question is—is it legal?

"No. It's so illegal in so many ways. It violates so many tenets of the law," said municipal attorney Burt Odelson, who represents Henyard's political opposition in Dolton.

Odelson said under the concept of equal protection of the law, the salaries of elected officials have to be identity-blind, which means they don't change based on the person holding the job.

"It may be the worst attempt to try to dissuade people from running that I've ever seen. And that's a long time," said Odelson.

Henyard isn't facing re-election at the township until 2025. But already potential competitors are circling despite the drastically lower salary, including Illinois State Senator Napoleon Harris. But if Henyard is re-elected, she'll continue making the $224,000, even if she seems to believe the job is worth a fraction of that.

#TiffanyHenyard
#DoltonMayor
#Vansilk1127