Arraignment for former Lincoln-Way superintendent rescheduled

NEW LENOX – The arraignment for a former Lincoln-Way School District 210 superintendent indicted on federal fraud charges has been rescheduled to Tuesday.

Lawrence Wyllie, 79, of Naperville, the former leader of District 210, also is being represented by five attorneys, including one who has worked on high-profile white-collar criminal cases.

Wyllie has been accused by federal prosecutors of misappropriating school funds for his own benefit and concealing the true financial condition of District 210 from the public.

Wyllie’s arraignment is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Tuesday at Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago before U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman.

Dan K. Webb of Winston & Strawn law firm will be the lead attorney for Wyllie, along with Sean G. Wieber and Alison S. Cooney.

Thomas Lee Kirsch from the same law firm and Robert Trevarthen of Richard F. Blass & Associates also are representing Wyllie.

Trevarthen has filed Freedom of Information Act requests to District 210, asking for records such as subpoenas, audit reports and media FOIA requests.

When reached Friday, Trevarthen declined to comment on the case. When asked whether he was filing FOIA requests on Wyllie’s behalf, he declined to comment.

Webb has worked on high-profile white-collar criminal cases, including successfully defending General Electric against criminal price-fixing allegations, representing Microsoft in antitrust litigation and Philip Morris in tobacco-related litigation, according to Winston & Strawn’s website.

Webb did not respond to a call or email Friday afternoon.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Wyllie engaged in a scheme that caused District 210 to assume at least $7 million in additional debt. He also allegedly misused at least $80,000 in district funds for his own personal benefit.

Wyllie was indicted on five counts of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if convicted, while embezzlement carries a maximum sentence of 10 years if convicted.

Wyllie has a government pension of more than $321,000 a year. Dave Urbanek, spokesman for the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, has said that based on what TRS understands from the indictment, Wyllie could lose the pension if convicted, according to state law.

In recent years, District 210 has been under financial strain that led to the controversial closing of Lincoln-Way North High School. North and West schools were built in the late 2000s thanks to a $225 million referendum to accommodate growing student enrollment that never materialized.