During a recent hearing on June 6, 2025, concerning a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Village of Dolton, former Mayor Tiffany Henyard was held in contempt of court. The court found her noncompliant with two previous orders related to the case.
Henyard attended the hearing with her attorney, who stated that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights if called to testify due to ongoing federal investigations into her conduct as mayor. Her attorney also mentioned that Henyard was unaware of which document was requested under FOIA and did not have it in her possession.
To address this issue, Henyard is expected to submit a sworn affidavit confirming her search for the document and stating that she does not possess it. Until she complies with previous court orders, she faces a fine of $1,000 per day. This situation might mark the first enforcement of the daily fine provision under the FOIA statute (5 ILCS 140/11(j)).
The requested document pertains to an incident during a village board meeting on January 2, 2024. During this meeting, Henyard presented a paper claiming it proved trustees had canceled a credit card—a statement later deemed false. Despite promising copies for trustees and the public at that time, no such documents were provided.
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