A civil lawsuit has been filed against Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard as well as trustee and local activist Andrew Holmes, alleging Holmes of assault and battery and Henyard of retaliation regarding a village economic development trip to Las Vegas in May 2023.
The lawsuit has been filed by Henyard's former assistant and a Dolton police officer.
According to the lawsuit, Henyard took the trip with a handful of Thornton Township representatives, including her former assistant and trustee Holmes.
The complaint stated that the woman felt disoriented and lightheaded following a dinner with Holmes, ultimately blacking out and later waking up in Holmes' room with no memory of how she got there.
According to the complaint, Dolton police officer Byron Miles told the woman after returning from Las Vegas that Holmes claimed he had unprotected sex with her. Miles advised her to seek medical care, which she said she later did.
The woman said that when she later met with Henyard to discuss what allegedly happened, Henyard said that if any information about the incident went public, Henyard would be "ruined," according to the complaint.
The complaint states that Henyard told the woman she would "handle it" and that the woman should trust her.
According to the complaint, the woman was placed on unpaid medical leave and later terminated.
Officer Miles claims he was the target of a number of retaliatory actions and was removed from Henyard's security detail.
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According to the complaint, Miles faced a number of retaliatory actions upon his return to duty.
An attorney from Holmes told NBC Chicago he has no comment on this lawsuit.
At Monday night's village board meeting, four Dolton trustees appointed former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a special investigator to look into the Las Vegas trip and other allegations made against Henyard.
"She will be able to talk to anyone who went on that trip and get their side of the story," trustee Jason House said.
Lightfoot accepted the appointment.
"At the conclusion of this investigation, I will provide an assessment of findings and recommendation and I welcome and urge the full cooperation by Mayor Henyard, her staff, all village trustees who have information relevant to inquiry," Lightfoot said.
A statement from the Village of Dolton to NBC Chicago acknowledged the ongoing investigation.
"We are aware of recent reports concerning the potential engagement of Former Mayor Lightfoot by the Village of Dolton trustees surrounding allegations related to Las Vegas travel. We take such allegations seriously and are committed to addressing them thoroughly and transparently. However, in response to hiring decisions, we uphold our values and maintain a safe and respectful environment for all community members, including our employees. Regarding the hiring of Mayor Lightfoot, it is imperative that any third-party counsel hired by the Village Trustees fully comply with legislative ordinance standards. At this stage, they do not meet these standards. Please see the attached letter to was sent to the trustees and Lori Lightfoot," the statement said.
Both the woman and Miles have filed complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and are seeking back-pay, front-pay, punitive damages and attorneys' fees.
