Ronald Henyard, 65, was shot in the neck in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, prompting his daughter to call for federal intervention in the city.
The father of Tiffany Henyard, the former mayor of Dolton, Illinois, was shot and critically injured in Chicago on Wednesday evening, prompting his daughter to publicly call on state and city leaders to accept federal assistance from President Trump to address violent crime.
Ronald Henyard, 65, was shot in the neck in an alley in the 1300 block of South Kedzie Avenue in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood at approximately 5:54 p.m. Paramedics transported him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition. Police radio traffic indicated that a 911 caller reported three people running westbound through the alley into a nearby apartment complex shortly after the shooting. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Henyard speaks out and calls for federal involvement
Tiffany Henyard confirmed the victim’s identity through a social media post Wednesday night, describing her father as an innocent victim of random violence and saying the incident reflected conditions facing families across Illinois. She addressed Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson directly, urging both to reconsider their opposition to federal involvement in public safety.
In her post, Henyard pointed to cities she said had experienced reductions in crime after accepting federal support, citing Memphis, Tennessee; Washington, D.C.; and New Orleans during the 2026 Mardi Gras period as examples of communities that had collaborated with the Trump administration on public safety efforts. Trump deployed National Guard troops to all three cities as part of a broader federal crime reduction initiative, though the deployments produced varied outcomes. In Washington, two Guard members were shot, one fatally. In Memphis, the deployment drew sharp local opposition. New Orleans reported no major incidents during the Mardi Gras period.
Pritzker and Johnson have been among the most vocal critics of Trump’s proposals to send federal forces into American cities without local consent. Neither office has responded publicly to Henyard’s statement as of this reporting.
Current Dolton Mayor Jason House issued a statement expressing sympathy for the family, saying the community stood in support of the Henyards as they navigated the situation.
Who Tiffany Henyard is now
Henyard served as Dolton’s mayor from 2021 to 2025 and was simultaneously appointed supervisor of Thornton Township, the largest township in Illinois, a combination of roles she publicly described using the title super mayor. Her tenure ended in a significant electoral loss in 2025 amid mounting criticism over her leadership and multiple investigations into her administration’s financial management.
After her defeat, Henyard relocated from the Chicago suburbs to Atlanta. She has since switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and is now running for a seat on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in Georgia.
The trajectory represents one of the more striking political reinventions in recent Illinois political history. Henyard built her profile as a Democrat in a predominantly Black, working-class suburb south of Chicago. She is now running as a Republican in a Georgia county that is home to Atlanta and has itself been at the center of national political controversy, including a high-profile criminal case against former President Trump and his associates.
Her call for Trump’s federal intervention in Chicago, made in the immediate aftermath of a deeply personal crisis, is consistent with her new party positioning. Whether it reflects a durable policy stance or a response shaped by grief and circumstance is a question her campaign will likely face as the Fulton County race develops.
Her father remained hospitalized as of Thursday. No additional information on his condition was available at the time of publication.