Fraud case against ex-Lincoln-Way school chief surpasses fifth-year mark

A federal fraud case against a former Lincoln-Way School District 210 superintendent has surpassed five years with no resolution in sight and with him continuing to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension benefits that he could lose if convicted of the charges against him.

In an Oct. 11 joint status report, both sides in the case against Lawrence Wyllie, 84, reported that Wyllie’s attorneys “again informed the government that Mr. Wyllie’s serious and ongoing medical conditions continue and remain the same.”

“While the parties are not yet in a position to determine how this case will proceed, the parties will continue their dialogue about what work remains before they will be in a position to determine how this case will proceed,” the report said.

In light of that report, U.S. Judge Gary Feinerman decided to continue Wyllie’s case to Jan. 19, about five years and four months since Wyllie was first indicted on charges of defrauding Lincoln-Way School District 210 during his time as superintendent. The school district has two high schools in New Lenox and a third in Frankfort.

Those charges were filed Sept. 13, 2017, under Zachary Fardon, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, before John Lausch took over the office on Nov. 22, 2017.

Neither federal prosecutors nor Wyllie’s attorneys have disclosed the nature of Wyllie’s medical conditions, nor have they indicated when the case will ever go to trial.

As the case against Wyllie continues to drag on year after year, he continues to collect an annual pension income that rises by 3% every year.

Wyllie could lose his pension if convicted of the federal charges, according to Dave Urbanek, spokesman for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois.

Since Wyllie’s retirement from District 210 in 2013, he has been paid a total of $3 million in pension income as of Sept. 30 by the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois.

In 2019, Wyllie’s annual pension income was about $340,191. In 2020, that increased to about $350,397 and then to $360,909 in 2021.

As of Sept. 30, Wyllie has been paid $309,629, according to data provided by the Teachers’ Retirement System in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. He may receive about $372,641 this year.

The charges against Wyllie were filed long after District 210 went through a financial meltdown that led to the 2016 closure of Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort. The district’s school board voted to close North in 2015 as a way to cut costs.

Under Wyllie, North and West schools were built in the late 2000s to meet the demand for a projected growth in student population that never actually occurred. The construction of the schools was financed by $225 million in bonds. Taxpayers in the district continue to pay off those bonds.

At the time, board members were considering the closure of North school, they blamed the district’s woes on low state funding and a housing market crippled by the Great Recession that began in 2007.

The board later acknowledged the true condition of District 210 was masked by improper accounting and alleged that Wyllie took unauthorized actions over the district’s finances.

The federal indictment against Wyllie accused him of causing the district to assume $7 million in additional debt, misusing at least $80,000 in district funds for his own personal benefit and concealing the financial health of the district.

Wyllie was also accused of using $50,000 in district funds, including bond funds, to build and operate Superdog, a dog obedience school at North school. Prosecutors said Superdog provided no benefit to the district.

The dog school, along with allegations of financial corruption at Lincoln-Way, were raised in a lawsuit filed Dec. 29, 2015, by the group Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite. The lawsuit unsuccessfully sought to block the closure of North school.