Former Island Lake mayor's wife wants charges tossed

Defense attorneys for the wife of former Island Lake mayor Thomas Hyde argued Thursday that charges she collected more than $100,000 in pay she did not earn should be dismissed.

Sharon Hyde is charged with collecting pay for hours she did not work as director of a village-run preschool, but her attorneys said she was a salaried employee and the specific hours she was on the job were irrelevant.

She is charged with theft of government property, official misconduct and making false entries and faces a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years if convicted.

Prosecutors claim she collected $114,000 between 1999 and 2009 for hours she did not work as the director of Creative Playtime Preschool, a position she still holds with the village.

Her husband, who prosecutors claim voted to pay his wife during his years as mayor and a village trustee, is charged with having a prohibited interest in contracts and official misconduct.

Waukegan attorneys Charles and Brian Smith told Circuit Judge Fred Foreman that village records show Sharon Hyde was paid a flat amount over a 52-week period for each year and therefore was salaried.

They also claimed the normal three-year statute of limitations on criminal prosecutions applied in this case, and their client should not be charged for any actions that took place before 2006.

Assistant State's Attorney Jason Grindel responded that investigators discovered village records showing Sharon Hyde was paid an hourly wage based on a set number of hours each week.

He called the dispute over her status as a salaried or hourly employee "a bona fide disagreement" between the prosecution and defense that a jury to decide.

Grindel also said the statute of limitations argument should be rejected because Sharon Hyde's actions were part of a single common scheme, and prosecutors have three years from the date of the last action to bring charges.

Foreman said he would rule on the motion Feb. 26, the same day he intends to schedule arguments for a motion to dismiss charges against Thomas Hyde.

In that motion, the Smiths argue state law allows public officials to cast the types of votes Hyde did on payments to his wife.