Village of Dolton, Mayor Tiffany Henyard sued by business owner

DOLTON, Ill. – The Village of Dolton and Mayor Tiffany Henyard were hit with another lawsuit Tuesday, this time from a barbershop owner who claims his business license was improperly denied.

Tyrone Isom Jr., a longtime barber in the south suburbs, was denied two business licenses for his property located at 1031 Sibley Boulevard for no justifiable reason, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit was filed against the village, Henyard, Henyard’s executive assistant Carmen Carlisle, village administrator Keith Freeman and Dolton city inspector Kim Alston.

Isom said he worked with village officials to get the proper permits to launch his business but was denied by Henyard and given the “runaround,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the license applications were denied by Henyard because they did not benefit her financially.

On Friday, the FBI served two subpoenas to the Village of Dolton as part of their ongoing investigation into Henyard.

Obtained by FOX 32 on Monday, copies of both subpoenas provide insights into the focus of the federal inquiry.

Directed to the village of Dolton’s custodian of records, one subpoena seeks testimony before a grand jury, confirming the empanelment of a federal grand jury to probe corruption allegations in Dolton.

Dolton Trustee Tammy Brown, upon reviewing the subpoenas, noted that all 29 Dolton employees named in one subpoena are allegedly loyal to Mayor Henyard.

The other subpoena requests information pertaining to village administrator Keith Freeman, Mayor Henyard’s top deputy, including payments, tax records, and contracts with companies associated with Freeman, according to LLC records.

“You have two separate subpoenas for two different types of records. And that means it’s what I would call a multifaceted or multipronged investigation. They’re not just looking at one allegation of criminal wrongdoing, but they’re looking at multiple,” Former FBI agent Ross Rice said.

The subpoenas mandate a representative of Dolton to appear before the federal grand jury on May 13 to provide the requested records. 

Read the full lawsuit below. Mobile users click here to view.