In a jaw-dropping meeting on Thursday night, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot presented initial findings from her investigation into the Village of Dolton’s ‘dire’ financial situation.

The bombshell report delved into the spending habits of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and her alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, highlighting just how much financial trouble the village is in.

Lightfoot was hired by village trustees in April to serve as a "special investigator" and look into allegations against Henyard, who is facing multiple lawsuits.

The findings were stunning to many community members, with audible gasps from the audience as Lightfoot revealed Dolton's funds have been declining under Henyard’s leadership. She was elected mayor in 2021.

It was a chaotic board meeting in Dolton on Monday night. But during that meeting, two unfamiliar faces were seen sitting next to Mayor Tiffany Henyard.

FOX 32 has learned they were criminal defense attorneys brought to the meeting by Mayor Henyard, who is at the center of a federal criminal investigation.

"OK, you’re out of order. Remove her. Remove her. Remove her!" Henyard told a resident and then her security. It was another wild night at the Dolton Village board, with a handful of residents being ejected for shouting at the mayor, who also continues to do battle with a majority of the village trustees.

"You got us into this mess and now we’re trying to salvage what we can to get out," said Kiana Belcher, Dolton Trustee.

The city of Aurora is debunking claims that an Aurora apartment building has been "taken over" by Venezuelan gangs.

While the city doesn't dismiss that there is a possibility of gang activity and they're looking for a connection, the building at East Colfax Avenue and Nome Street has issues of poor living conditions dating back years.

The building near the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, operated by CBZ Management, has documented issues like rodent infestations, piled up trash, missing windows, sewage backups and water leaks.

It's at the point where the property management group hasn't paid their water bill. Tenants have faced issues like lack of electricity and heat, according to the city.

The political landscape in the Village of Dolton grew more turbulent as Mayor Tiffany Henyard terminated Keith Freeman, her village administrator and senior advisor at Thornton Township, amid allegations and legal entanglements; this move has stirred controversy and debate among local trustees concerning its legality and potential ramifications.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the dismissal was announced by Mayor Henyard during a public meeting, the trustees stayed silent, not supporting the action which led to questions about the mayor's authority to unilaterally fire Freeman because the board is typically responsible for voting on such employment decisions, Trustee Jason House explaining they were advised by their lawyers to remain quiet during the meeting and expressing concern over the possibility of a lawsuit stemming from the firing. Alongside this, the board made the difficult choice to lay off a handful of village employees in what Trustee Brittney Norwood described as the village "bleeding," a decision Mayor Henyard condemned as "political retaliation."

Dolton's dire financial situation was addressed at another fiery village board meeting on Monday night.

Officials revealed they've had to dip into Tax Increment Financing fees to pay public-sector employees. They also approved layoffs of eight village employees, citing financial issues.

"It's unfortunate, but we have to make these decisions so we can make payroll," Trustee Brittney Norwood said.

The board also froze credit card spending. This means only the director or administrative services can use the village credit card on approved expenses. Only $5,000 can be spent at a time.

Trustees also discussed putting a village-owned property on the market. It was supposed to become a Dolton police station, but the village doesn't have the money to make that happen. The board did not vote on possibly selling that property.

During Seattle's busiest tourism season, coffee giant Starbucks abruptly closed the doors to its 1st and Pike location.

Just blocks away from the Pike Place Market, this Starbucks location is jam-packed.

Starbucks would not confirm why they closed the store but said it was temporary despite any plans to re-open the storefront. Starbucks spokesperson Sam Jefferies would not confirm if the closure was due to safety concerns.

Three trustees from the Village of Dolton called a special meeting on Monday night to try and keep the village running as they deal with embattled Mayor Tiffany Henyard.

Trustees who do not support Henyard said she would not allow them to put items on the regular meeting agenda, so they set their own meeting to start before hers.

The two contentious meetings were held back to back, starting at 6:15 p.m. at Village Hall.

Trustees said Dolton is facing a financial disaster and they blame Henyard for overspending and mismanagement.

“There’s no more money, anything that we can sell we need to sell it, if you wanna get outside we can sell you too,” trustee Kiana Belcher said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is deploying California National Guard lawyers to prosecute cases in Alameda County, where Oakland is. Newsom’s office also detailed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s months of delays preventing CalGuard’s deployment, publicly highlighting the state of the district attorney’s office.

Alameda County violent crime rose 188% in 2023 compared to 2022, 74% of which was in Oakland, where violent crime rose 237% over 2022.

In February, Newsom offered Cal Guard and California Department of Justice lawyers and investigators to assist Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. Skyrocketing crime in Oakland is so bad offices are telling employees it’s unsafe to leave the building for lunch and fast food chains are shutting down otherwise profitable locations.

An executive order by San Francisco Mayor London Breed will require homeless residents to first be offered transportation that can reunite them with family outside the city before anything else.

The "Journey Home Executive Directive," issued on Thursday, will "prioritize relocation support and services" for San Francisco's homeless residents and mandate city departments and staff to first offer these services before others, including housing and shelter.

The order also requires first responders such as police officers, paramedics, and firefighters to give handouts with information about the city's relocation services and a contact number.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is deploying California National Guard lawyers to prosecute cases in Alameda County, where Oakland is. Newsom’s office also detailed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s months of delays preventing CalGuard’s deployment, publicly highlighting the state of the district attorney’s office.

Alameda County violent crime rose 188% in 2023 compared to 2022, 74% of which was in Oakland, where violent crime rose 237% over 2022.

In February, Newsom offered Cal Guard and California Department of Justice lawyers and investigators to assist Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. Skyrocketing crime in Oakland is so bad offices are telling employees it’s unsafe to leave the building for lunch and fast food chains are shutting down otherwise profitable locations.