Board executive sessions off limits in criminal trial

A Lake County judge ruled Wednesday that recordings of two closed sessions of the Island Lake village board cannot be used as evidence in the upcoming criminal trial of a village employee.

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman said he will decide in the future if a board resolution that resulted from those sessions can be used by the defense to combat the theft and official misconduct charges against Sharon Hyde.

Hyde, the wife of former mayor Thomas Hyde, is charged with collecting more than $100,000 in pay for hours she did not work as director of a village-operated day care center.

On March 11, just two days after Foreman refused to dismiss the charges against Hyde, the board passed a resolution declaring she was a salaried employee not subject to accounting for the hours she worked.

Hyde's defense attorneys want to use the resolution as evidence no crime was committed, while prosecutors contend the action was a maneuver by Hyde's political supporters.

Assistant State's Attorney Christen Bishop asked Foreman to give her access to executive session recordings at board meetings on Feb. 25 and March 11 in which she claimed the resolution was discussed.

Bishop argued the comments of board members at those sessions could provide insight into the motivation behind the resolution's drafting and adoption by a majority of the board members.

But board attorney Donald Anderson argued the state Open Meetings Act bars release of executive session recordings or minutes until the board determines there is no longer a need to keep them confidential.

Foreman agreed, and stated further the act only allows subpoenas to be issued for executive session documentation in cases where a challenge to the legality of such a session has been made.

“It is clear from the statute that, unless it is for a matter of enforcement of the Open Meetings Act, these documents should not be released,” Foreman said. “In addition, the four trustees who voted for the resolution will be available for trial and the parties can ask whatever questions they deem appropriate.”

The question of the relevance of the resolution itself to Hyde's trial will be dealt with on another date, Foreman said.

Bishop has filed a motion to bar the resolution from being used as evidence. Defense attorneys Charles and Brian Smith want to argue Bishop should not be allowed to present any evidence that Hyde was not a salaried employee.

Foreman scheduled arguments on both motions for Dec. 8 and set Hyde's trial for Jan. 3.

If convicted of all charges against her, Hyde faces a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years.