Ex-Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is hired on $400-PER-HOUR contract to investigate 'America's worst mayor' amid embezzlement accusations after she admitted $2M hole in taxpayer funds from small Illinois town

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been hired by the nearby village of Dolton to investigator their mayor - whom has been branded 'America's worst.'

Self-described 'Super Mayor' Tiffany Henyard, 40, has been accused of embezzling taxpayer funds and retaliating against a victim of sexual assault - and last month vetoed an investigation into the allegations.

Lightfoot - who was ousted as mayor of Chicago last year - was approved by the village's board of trustees to investigate Henyard's alleged corruption at the cost of $400 per hour.

'I bring expertise in leading investigations of this kind and understand the complex challenges of governing. I will follow the facts where they lead, without bias, and reserve comments until the work is complete,' Lightfoot told the board Monday. 

She may not get very far, however, as Henyard's mayoral powers extend to potentially vetoing the probe. 

Henyard, a Democrat, was not present for the meeting Monday where Lightfoot's investigation was approved.

Lightfoot is a former prosecutor who has been tasked by the board with 'All allegations of misconduct, and all internal investigations, if any, along with any village state and federal law violations,' Dolton Trustee Jason House said.

However, even if Henyard does allow the investigation, none of Lightfoot's findings have any authority to bring charges or impeachment against the Dolton mayor. 

That, plus the $400 per hour price tag, has led the already cash-strapped village skeptical, according to ABC Chicago.

One speaker asked: 'At the end of the day, haven't gotten results from simple [Freedom of Information Act requests], so how are you going to be different?' 

Lightfoot responded by describing herself as 'a very determined person' and hoped for the mayor's willingness to speak to her.  

'It is my sincere hope that Mayor Henyard will voluntarily cooperate, but should they not, we are prepared to do what is necessary to get to the facts,' she said.

'It's obvious that a veto will happen, but we have the majority, but the four of us have the majority,' Dolton Trustee Kenia Belcher said. 

'We are bleeding right now, and bleeding leads to death, death of a community, and we have to stop it.' 

It is unclear what they can actually do to stop it, as Henyard continues to make national headlines for all the wrong reasons despite running a village of just 20,000 people. 

The high-rolling mayor, who earns $300,000 for her public duties, has spent thousands more on first class trips, a professional hair and makeup team and a security detail. 

She has been accused of unlawfully signing off contracts as dozens of unpaid suppliers threaten to take the town to court.

Henyard has also been accused by a former employee of sexual harassment and retaliation. 

The former employee claims the mayor fired her after she said she was sexually assaulted at a work trip in Las Vegas. 

'Us figuring out what happened in Vegas is extremely important for the residents,' said Dolton Board of Trustee member Brittney Norwood. 

A year after her election, Dolton residents triggered a recall process largely due to her hiring of convicted sex offender Lavelle Redmond into a role that would require him to enter people's homes.

According to reporting at the time, the then-16-year-old Redmond and three others kidnapped and sexually assaulted two girls, ages 13 and 14.

At age 17, Redmond was sentenced to 50 years in prison but was paroled in 2016 and required to register as a sex offender. At the time Henyard defended the move, stating that convicts who have served time deserve a second chance.

However, the recall failed on a technicality and Henyard remained in post, turning up to the next board meeting blasting a disco song and dancing on the podium.

Following the verdict, she also posted a defiant picture on Instagram proclaiming herself the 'People's Mayor' with the caption, 'I am and forever will be Dolton's Mayor.'

The village board had voted through a motion to ask agencies including the FBI, the US attorney, the Cook County sheriff and Cook County state's attorney to investigate Henyard earlier this year.

Henyard vetoed the invitation, but FBI agents were already talking to dozens of people in the town of 20,000 about the unpaid bills.

The mayor has admitted a $2 million deficit, blaming the trustees for incompetence, but some fear the true figure could be as high as $5 million.

The town owes more than $427,000 to a company that repaved its streets, and another $400,000 to a tree-trimming company that worked for it last year.

Henyard had her charity 'Tiffany Henyard Cares' shut down last month by the Illinois Attorney General amid claims it used taxpayer money and the services of public employees.

She and other officials are accused of spending more than $67,000 of public money on trips to Portland, Austin, Atlanta and New York City, traveling first-class on some of the flights, and spending $13,000 on a stay in New York.

'It's unfortunate that politics are being played. What's happened is a million dollars out of my budget have been cut because of politics,' Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey said.

The first female mayor in the town's 128-year history was at the White House meeting President Joe Biden in January, but she has been accused of shutting down businesses that refuse to donate to her campaign.

One resident, Lawrence Gardner, claimed that Henyard forced the closure of his trucking business after he refused to renew a $3,500 contribution to her political fund.

The mayor was slammed for hiring her former campaign worker as the town's code enforcement officer despite the fact he is a convicted child rapist.

She also raised eyebrows after spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on security details, including one occasion where she pulled cops off the street to perform a protection outfit.

A successful recall vote was overturned on a technicality last year prompting her to dance on a podium at the subsequent board meeting to the strains of Rihanna's 'B***h Better Have My Money'.

'I am and forever will be Dolton's Mayor,' she posted on Instagram, prompting some to call her the 'Dolton Dictator.'

She has not been charged with an offense and is defiant against critics she claims 'should be ashamed of themselves'.

She also features heavily on professional stylist Brandon K Momom's account, sporting various ensembles handpicked for her public appearances.

Visitors to Henyard's website are greeted by a huge selfie and encouraged to offer donations. 

Her antics have earned comparisons to the show Parks and Recreation, a comedy which pokes fun at local government employees.

Henyard even has a criminal past and a mugshot, having been arrested and charged with criminal trespass to vehicles in 2016, the New York Post reported. 

DailyMail.com has contacted Mayor Henyard for comment.