Latest news with #FreedomOfInformationAct
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard due in court Friday
CHICAGO — Tiffany Henyard's era as Dolton mayor and Thornton Township supervisor is over, but her legal cases continue. A Cook County judge ordered Henyard to appear in court to answer claims that during her time in office, she failed to follow state transparency laws and turn over spending and other records. She fired back that she was simply 'the face of the village' and not its record keeper. The Friday hearing is in connection to a lawsuit filed by the Edgar County Watchdogs, Inc. The organization sued the Village of Dolton after Henyard's administration ignored Freedom Of Information Act requests last January. Prior to Friday's appearance, Henyard was found in contempt of court. We expect to learn Friday whether there will be any punishment for that. Over the last several years, Henyard has been at the center of controversy and an ongoing FBI investigation for questionable spending, and claims that she used her government power to retaliate against people she perceived as opponents. Brawl involving Tiffany Henyard leads to 2 lawsuits WGN Investigates has documented first class trips for Henyard and her allies costing taxpayers more than a $100,000. This spring, Dolton and Thornton Township residents voted Henyard out of office. While under the spotlight, Henyard has not been charged with a crime. Friday's hearing is also expected to look into a lawsuit against the Village of Dolton, Henyard and the village's board of fire and police commissioners. The hearing is expected to begin at 2 p.m. Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Private prison says it has ‘right' to run ICE detention in KS, doesn't need city's OK
Despite withdrawing an application to operate its shuttered jail facility as an immigrant detention center from the city of Leavenworth, CoreCivic appears poised to pursue a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement anyway. CoreCivic's spokesperson Ryan Gustin said in a written statement, 'we look forward to continuing to serve our federal partners at our Midwest Regional Reception Center,' citing the company's 'long and positive' relationship with the Leavenworth community. When the city of Leavenworth announced last week that CoreCivic was no longer pursuing a special use permit, many people thought that meant tentative plans had been scrapped. 'This was a win for how the community of Leavenworth came together, spoke their truth, and said 'no'. But it speaks volumes that CoreCivic couldn't bear even this small amount of accountability,' the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas said in a statement. According to City Manager Scott Peterson, the reasoning behind CoreCivic's abrupt about-face on the application has nothing to do with a change in the company's vision for entering into a contract with ICE to house hundreds of rounded up immigrants. The facility has undergone no structural changes since its contract serving as a maximum-security detention center for the U.S. Marshals Service expired under a Joe Biden executive order more than three years ago. Gustin said earlier this month that his company believes it has 'always operated this facility by right.' CoreCivic currently runs 14 immigrant detention centers around the country. He refused to explain the abrupt withdrawal of the special use permit application or expound on the prison company's plan for the Leavenworth facility in a phone call. 'The guidance I'm getting right now is that the extent of our comments are contained in the statement I just provided to you,' Gustin told a reporter. ICE did not respond to requests for comment for this story and has not acknowledged The Star's Freedom Of Information Act request for communications between agency officials and CoreCivic. Under the terms of an agreement signed last month by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, an unspecified number of Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents will be enlisted to help ICE arrest immigrants in the state. Forgoing the application, which the city requested as a condition for reopening the facility, means abandoning plans for at least three public meetings where the request would be discussed. The City Commission's calendar called for a final ruling on the application in May. Over the past three years, repeated efforts by CoreCivic to advance its ICE proposal have fallen apart amid local resistance. Some detractors have highlighted the prison's history of violence and others have expressed anti-immigrant sentiments and worry that people brought to the detention center might take up permanent residence in Leavenworth. 'Taking a profit-driven shortcut and ignoring real people's input would be consistent with CoreCivic's track record across the country and locally,' the ACLU said in its statement. 'Previously, at the same facility they seek to reopen under an ICE contract, CoreCivic ignored the voices of staff, detainees, and even the Department of Justice who all raised concerns about understaffing, safety, and security. That disregard had dangerous and sometimes deadly consequences and resulted in serious human rights violations.' William Rogers, a Wyandotte County resident and former prison guard who worked at CoreCivic's Leavenworth facility from 2016 to 2020, said chronic understaffing precipitated rampant drug use and an environment of violence in the private prison. He said he was stabbed by an inmate in 2020 and received 14 stitches after his head was split open in a separate altercation. On multiple occasions, he attempted life-saving measures on inmates who had committed suicide or overdosed. 'After you get stabbed or after you have someone die in your hands, nobody ever came to you and said, 'Hey, Bill, are you all right? Are you ready to work? Are you good to go back?'' Rogers said. 'Had they had those hearings, I believe there was going to be quite a few people come out and speak about the realities of CoreCivic.' Peterson said Monday that the commission would discuss possible paths forward at Tuesday evening's special meeting. The five-member commission held a 40-minute executive session to discuss legal strategies but took no binding action. Assistant City Manager Penny Holler deferred to CoreCivic for comment Tuesday about future plans for the rebranded prison and the city government's involvement in its potential reopening. Before the closure at the end of 2021, the CoreCivic facility was so understaffed and violent that U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson called it a 'hell-hole' in its final months. Justin Gust, vice president of community engagement at El Centro, shared the city of Leavenworth's Facebook post on Friday, thanking the more than 1,600 people who signed a petition calling for the denial of the application. He said he's still cautiously optimistic about the ability of grassroots organizations to influence what could be a bitter fight over whether CoreCivic can agree to house as many as 1,033 immigrants arrested by ICE. That fight could play out as President Donald Trump ramps up his mass deportation push. 'Some of the federal administration and also state government have just been using similar tactics of we're just going to proceed even though it's not in the due process or the right procedures or, you know, lawful, and just wait and see what happens in court,' said Gust, whose nonprofit resource center provides educational, social and economic services for Hispanic families in and around Kansas City. 'I'm not terribly surprised that that is the tactic they're just trying to use. But we're still watching and very concerned. I think it's good to still try to celebrate a small win because they took it back for some reason, whether they just didn't want to deal with the community pushback or they're just trying to plan a different route to get it done without that hassle.'
