Pingree Grove staff not keen on mayor using village hall as day care

An internal audit details allegations that Pingree Grove's village staffers have felt "compelled" to baby-sit President Wyman "Clint" Carey's young son at village hall during business hours.

The four-page report, obtained by the Daily Herald, reflects interviews from three women who said they either felt obligated to watch Carey's son out of concern for his safety or that Carey asked them outright to watch him.

Carey is a stay-at-home dad who quit his full-time job in 2007 at a West Dundee jewelry store to oversee the village's business and day-to-day operations while the town searched for a village manager. He often brought his son with him to village hall.

Village Clerk Michelle Figuerola and Utility Clerk Marjorie Morton were mentioned in the audit by name, but declined to comment.

In the report, compiled in May by then-Village Manager Scott Hartman, Hartman acknowledges it isn't complete because Carey did not have the opportunity to review its claims or respond to them.

Carey said he no longer takes his son to village hall and would not comment beyond that.

"I don't feel it's right to do this through the newspaper," he said.

The report is the second and final part of an audit that three trustees - Greg Marston, Stephanie Mette and Steve Wiedmeyer - voted to send to the Kane County state's attorney's office to see whether criminal charges are possible against Carey.

The first part of the audit detailed Carey's spending habits; the state's attorney's office has not decided whether Carey will face charges, spokesman Chris Nelson said.

The women spoke of occasionally giving Carey's son a bottle and of changing his diaper, but the report also said Carey never asked them to change him. In every case, Carey was at village hall and collected his son once he became "fussy," the report said.

The report says staffers started watching Carey's son a few months after he was born. Staff detailed a total of four hours and 10 minutes watching Carey's son, but say there were many other examples for which they couldn't account.

"If they can't get their work done because they have to watch over (Carey's son) then that's a problem," Mette said. "We don't pay and the taxpayers don't pay the staff to watch his son. They pay them to do work for the village."

The report said that sometimes during meetings the boy would cry and Carey would open the door and "place him on the other side" without addressing staff, assuming they would watch him.

Mette says it was "inappropriate" for Carey's son to accompany him to meetings. "If I'm taking a meeting with somebody I'm trying to make a deal with, I'm not going to bring my child with me," she said.

Staffers never filed any written complaints with the village manager, the audit said.

One employee brought the matter to Hartman, but no formal or verbal action was taken against Carey, the report said.

"While the description of the impact and disruption varies by staff member, the sentiment is the same," Hartman wrote. "They feel compelled to watch (Carey's son) while he is wandering the village hall... they would simply like this to stop."