In recent years, south suburban Dolton and Thornton Township have become synonymous with political dysfunction — chaotic public meetings, allegations of financial impropriety, and residents stuck with deficits and unpaid bills.
At the center of it all was Tiffany Henyard.
Now she’s running for office again. In Georgia.
Henyard is vying to be a county commissioner in Fulton County, home to Atlanta. Georgia’s primary election is May 19.
As the lone Republican candidate, Henyard looks to be headed to the November ballot to face the Democratic nominee. She was a Democrat when she was here, but evidently she’s had a change of heart. Either that or running as a Republican is a clearer way to somehow becoming an elected official again.
So, as a public service, Georgia voters, we have some information for you. You deserve to know the record she left behind, and how she earned the unofficial title of the “worst mayor in America.”
Henyard served as the Democratic mayor of Dolton from 2021 to 2025 and supervisor of Thornton Township from 2022 to 2025. Following a slew of negative press, her political collapse gained momentum in December 2024 when Thornton Township Democrats declined to nominate her for another term, paving the way for state Sen. Napoleon Harris III to replace her in May 2025. Dolton voters then rejected her in the February 2025 Democratic primary, where Trustee Jason House won in a landslide.
It apparently didn’t take long for Henyard to overcome the blow. WGN-TV reported she registered to vote in Georgia two days later.
During her tenure with the township and the village, she faced intense scrutiny, including an FBI investigation examining allegations of financial mismanagement and possible misuse of public funds. Allegations against her administration included lavish spending on travel, questionable contracting, and retaliation complaints from former employees. An investigation led by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot found that the village’s general fund dropped from a $5.6 million surplus in April 2022 to a $3.6 million deficit by May 2024.
Residents caught on and regularly showed up to village and township meetings to let Henyard know they’d be holding her accountable. That’s not surprising — aside from the cloud of corruption allegations and open hostility between Henyard and the people she served, many residents felt their local government was spinning out of control. All the while, many of her former constituents were facing rising property tax bills even as their ability to pay had diminished.
In other words, Dolton is in far worse shape after living under Henyard’s leadership for several years.
This is not a legacy anyone should want to replicate elsewhere.
Henyard thankfully is in Illinoisans’ rearview mirror, so we thought we wouldn’t have occasion to revisit that sorry era for Dolton. But here we are: We felt it useful to give an honest accounting of the unfamiliar name Georgians are likely to have on their ballots come November.
We’re all in favor of more exports from our state, but this isn’t what we have in mind.
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