Under federal scrutiny, Tiffany Henyard announces reelection bid for Dolton mayor
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, the focus of an investigation by federal authorities, said she will seek reelection next year, starting with the February Democratic Primary, and plans to back a slate of Village Board candidates.
Elected to her first term in April 2021 as Dolton's first Black female mayor, Henyard has been the subject of federal subpoenas targeting her and a supposedly philanthropic organization bearing her name meant to help cancer survivors. An attorney representing Henyard has declared she's done nothing wrong.
Henyard will face at least one challenger in the primary. Trustee Jason House, who initially supported and ran with Henyard in 2021, is seeking to oust her and is running with his own slate of candidates.
Henyard announced her reelection bid on Facebook Tuesday, and said that an announcement event is planned for November. The deadline to file petitions for the February Democratic Primary is Oct. 28.
House, who heads the Clean House 2025 slate in Dolton, said Wednesday he is proud of the team he's put together.
"We look forward to Election Day and hope the residents will vote for us to continue doing the work we have been doing," he said.
Clerk Alison Key is running for reelection on the ticket, as are incumbent trustees Kiana Belcher and Brittney Norwood. Edward Steave, previously a one-term trustee who lost reelection last year, is also running as trustee on the ticket.
House would be up for reelection next year, and would be off the Village Board if defeated in his mayoral bid.
Trustee Andrew Holmes was reelected last year, as was Trustee Tammie Brown. Stanley Brown was elected to his first term, and is not up for reelection.
State campaign finance disclosure reports show Henyard's campaign committee not receiving a single contribution for the last several months.
Friends of Tiffany Henyard did not record any contributions or expenses for the recently ended July-September quarter, and showed no income coming into the campaign since before the final three months of 2023, according to reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Henyard made a personal loan of $20,000 to the campaign on March 6 of this year, and the campaign had just under $64,000 to spend at the end of September, according to filings.
In the February 2021 Democratic primary, Henyard, then a trustee, defeated then Mayor Riley Rogers and Holmes.
In the spring election, she defeated Ronnie Burge , then police chief in Dixmoor, who ran as an independent.
In the 2021 election, Henyard ran on a ticket that included House, Belcher, Norwood and clerk Key.
Henyard survived a June 2022 recall referendum question after a state appellate court ruled votes cast were invalid.
