The Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation, named after the self-proclaimed south suburban “people’s mayor” who steered thousands of taxpayer dollars into the nonprofit’s coffers, is no longer allowed to solicit donations after blowing multiple deadlines to produce legally-required tax filings to the state.
Pasquale Esposito, the deputy bureau chief of the office’s charitable trust bureau, notified the foundation of the decision on Wednesday after the nonprofit missed the latest reporting deadline of last Friday. State statute requires all charities to file financial information such as annual income expenditures to the Illinois Attorney General’s office, so the public can be well informed before making donations.
“The attorney general is committed to protecting donors from potential fraud and enforcing state laws in place to ensure charitable organizations meet their financial responsibilities,” said an Illinois Attorney General office spokesperson.
Esposito said in his letter to the Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation’s board of directors that it is “unlawful for the Foundation to solicit, receive or otherwise hold any funds in the State of Illinois while it remains unregistered.”
Esposito noted that even after his office sent letters notifying the nonprofit of the outstanding documents, “the foundation has not responded, and we have not been advised why there has been a delay.” He asked the organization to “please make this a matter of urgent priority” and to submit the documents to him by March 13.
Multiple messages and emails left for Henyard were not returned, and the nonprofit’s website appeared defunct as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Illinois Answers Project and FOX 32 first reported last year that Henyard, in her role as Thornton Township supervisor, voted along with the township board to cut a check for $10,000 in taxpayer money to the foundation, which claims to help people with cancer. Government resources, such as township vehicles, were also used to solicit donations for the nonprofit.
After directing the money to the nonprofit, Henyard and her supporters took a bicycle trip to Springfield in support of what they said was cancer legislation. But a bill was never filed, and the State Legislature was not in session at the time of their trip. Nevertheless, the township and village were on the hook for more than $11,500 spent on hotels, restaurants and other businesses statewide during the journey, which lasted more than a week.
Records also show Henyard authorized a separate $17,000 payment from the township for 1,000 white hoodies and T-shirts. An invoice for the clothing was submitted one day after the paperwork for Henyard’s foundation was submitted to the state.
Illinois Answers subsequently filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the Village of Dolton after the village failed to turn over credit card bills regarding trip expenses in response to a records request. The lawsuit is pending.
Documents show that the foundation’s board members are all people who work for the village or township. Keith Freeman, the Dolton village manager and Henyard’s paid senior advisor at the township, filed the initial paperwork for the nonprofit and was listed as an officer for the group as of October 2023.
He declined to comment on Tuesday afternoon, saying he was at work.
“I can’t have this conversation with you right now,” he said.
