A criminal charge against Kendall County Circuit Clerk Robyn Ingemunson stems from a complaint filed by one of her employees about an alleged incident at the Kendall County Chiefs of Police Christmas Party, according to emails obtained by the Beacon-News.
Ingemunson is charged with battery making physical contact, a criminal misdemeanor, in connection with a Dec. 21 incident at a restaurant on the 600 block of West Veterans Parkway in Yorkville, according to court records. Ingemunson, 49, of the 2300 block of Iroquois Lane in Yorkville, has been out on $150 bail.
While attending the party, Ingemunson was talking with another woman and became upset, according to police reports. With an open hand, Ingemunson pushed the side of the other woman’s head once, according to police reports. The woman who was pushed is married to Ingemunson’s ex-husband.
The woman signed a complaint against Ingemunson Dec. 27, the same day she emailed Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis, Kendall County Board member Tony Giles, County Board member John Purcell and County Board Chairman Scott Gryder about the incident. Shortly after, the woman forwarded the email to the other seven Kendall County Board members.
In the email obtained by the Beacon-News via a Freedom of Information Act request, the woman described the alleged incident, complaining that she was verbally harassed.
“When she was done harassing me she intentionally shoved my head down while I was sitting down for no apparent reason. We were not arguing or anything,” the woman wrote.
Ingemunson has not responded to requests for an interview.
The conflict occurred after the party had ended, said Yorkville Police Deputy Chief Terry Klingel, the association’s vice president. The association covered appetizers and soft drinks at the Christmas party, but guests had to pay for their own alcohol, Klingel said.
The woman said she received the invitation in her work email, according to the document.
The woman went into work the morning after the party, but after Ingemunson emailed her asking her to come into her office, she left early, she wrote.
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“I do not know how to attend work under the recent circumstances,” the woman wrote.
The woman wrote that she would not be returning to work under Ingemunson’s supervision, and asked the officials she emailed to respond to her within 24 hours on how she could resume going back to work. She asked about a transfer to another position
“I cannot continue to work for someone who feels like they can bully their employees at a work event,” the woman wrote.
Reached by the Beacon-News, the woman said she was on a paid leave of absence while the county conducted an investigation but returned to work last week, now reporting to the chief deputy clerk rather than to Ingemunson. The woman otherwise declined to comment on the case.
Ingemunson is next to appear in court at 1 p.m. Feb. 27 in Room 114 of the Kendall County courthouse in Yorkville, according to Kendall County court records. DeKalb County Judge William Brady, assigned to the case at the request of Kendall County Judge Timothy McCann, will travel to Kendall County for the proceedings.
The Kendall County Board in June 2015 voted 6-1 to approve Ingemunson as interim clerk effective that July 1, when she took over for Rebecca Morganegg, who retired as clerk. Ingemunson was then elected to the position in an uncontested race last March. She has worked in the clerk’s office since 2011, according to Beacon-News archives.
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