Former Dem 'super mayor' pleads the Fifth after failing to produce public records in court
A Chicago suburb's former Democratic "super mayor" is facing yet another legal hurdle after failing to produce public records from her time in office after being held in contempt of court earlier this month.
In a hearing on Friday, Tiffany Henyard's attorney Beau Bridley pleaded the Fifth on his client's behalf after she was ordered to hand over public records from her time in office.
"The smear campaign against Tiffany Henyard, which began while she was in office, continues even now that she is out of office," Bridley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Bridley conceded that the former mayor does not have the requested document, with an Illinois judge allowing Henyard's legal team to submit an affidavit in its place.
"The mayor has no document that the plaintiff seeks," Bridley said. "This matter is going to be resolved with a simple affidavit. The whole hearing was much ado about nothing."
The hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by the Edgar County Watchdogs Inc., after the organization sued Henyard and the Village of Dolton for failing to produce financial records after the documents were requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
"We had little doubt Ms. Henyard would use losing the election as an excuse not to produce the documents," Edward "Coach" Weinhaus, attorney for Edgar County Watchdogs, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Invoking the Fifth Amendment for a criminal investigation was an added wrinkle. The Watchdogs will keep looking for the documents even if the voters might have inadvertently thrown out the documents with the mayor."
The embattled former mayor was unseated after losing her re-election bid to Jason House, who was sworn in last month. Henyard was also defeated by Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris in her attempt to keep her seat as Thornton Township supervisor.
Henyard was thrust into the national spotlight in April 2024 after officials at Dolton Village Hall were served subpoenas from the FBI following a corruption investigation, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Henyard, however, was not charged with a crime.
In response to the FBI looking into Henyard's administration, village trustees voted to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate the former mayor's spending. At the initial vote, supporters of Henyard clashed with her opponents as the meeting spiraled into a screaming match between groups.
Lightfoot's investigation reportedly revealed the village's fund fell from its initial $5.6 million balance to a $3.6 million deficit, with the local government's credit card bills accumulating a whopping $779,000 balance in 2023.
On the day Henyard lost the mayoral primary, the Village of Dolton was reportedly slapped with a federal subpoena as officials demanded records tied to a land development allegedly tied to Henyard's boyfriend.
Henyard is required to return for a hearing on June 11, with a judge set to decide if she is to remain in contempt of court while being fined $1,000 per day.
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