Pingree Grove clerk in limbo

Things came to a head this week in Pingree Grove, after its village clerk was denied a request to work a second job during business hours.

It leaves Village Clerk Michelle Figuerola wondering whether she'll stay at village hall. She has not been back to work since Monday.

“All I can say is that my footsteps are guided by God,” Figuerola said Thursday. “Wherever my life is led, is led by God, so whatever the outcome is, it's totally in God's hands.”

Figuerola announced her intention to run for village clerk in the next election in a memo last week and also wrote that she secured a 10-hour a week part-time job with Elgin Area School District U-46.

Figuerola, who was appointed to the seat in 2007, now makes $38,625 a year — the village didn't realize hers was an elected position until earlier this fall.

Under new guidelines, the next person elected to the seat will make $25 a meeting or $100 a month.

U-46 has hired Figuerola to work as a clerical assistant at Hillcrest Elementary School in Elgin, a job she started Monday, U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders said.

In her memo, Figuerola listed her new hours, as approved by the interim village administrator and finance director, and those hours indicated she would leave each day between 8 and 11 a.m. to work her second job.

But by village ordinance, Village President Wyman “Clint” Carey is the only person with the authority to approve her request.

In a memo to Figuerola Wednesday, Carey denied her proposal, saying it violates the employee handbook's guidelines for securing an extra job.

The handbook says second jobs cannot “infringe on village work time,” as village employees are expected to work eight hours a day, 40 hours a week.

Moreover, granting Figuerola's request would set a bad example for the rest of the staff, Carey said Thursday.

“It's not a good precedent to split a workday for somebody so we can still pay her benefits,” he said.

But Trustees Greg Marston and Stephanie Mette sided with Figuerola.

“For the best interest of this village, if we have to work around some things and try to accommodate for a little bit, we can always change our minds,” Mette said.

Figuerola views Carey's denial as retaliation for her filing a complaint against him in which she and another staffer complained about baby-sitting his young son at village hall. An internal audit determined Carey did nothing wrong.

Figuerola also said it was inappropriate to discuss her issue in public. According to an audio recording of the meeting this week, Carey tried to adjourn into closed session to discuss it, but nobody on the board made a motion to do so.

Figuerola has not returned to work in Pingree Grove since Monday she called in sick Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Sanders couldn't confirm whether she worked in the district those same days.