Ex-Lincoln-Way leader charged with fraud can’t ‘meaningfully participate’ in his defense, report says

A pending fraud case against the former superintendent of the Lincoln-Way school district has now stretched to more than half of a decade and it appears his unspecified medical issues will prevent him from participating in his own defense.

Both parties in the federal case against Lawrence Wyllie, 85, informed U.S. Judge Elaine Bucklo in a Jan. 11 status report that in their estimation, because of Wylie’s “serious and ongoing medical conditions, he cannot meaningfully participate in his own defense at this time.”

It’s never been clear what is specifically ailing the former leader of Lincoln-Way District 210, which has three high schools serving students in New Lenox and Frankfort.

A call and messages with questions about the case to Wyllie’s attorneys and Joseph Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, were not returned as of Monday.

Whatever is afflicting Wyllie, it is apparently serious enough that both federal prosecutors and Wyllie’s attorneys have not decided after several years – at least publicly – on how his case will be resolved.

The case involves charges that accuse Wyllie of causing District 210 to assume $7 million in additional debt, misusing at least $80,000 in district funds for his own personal benefit, concealing the financial health of the district and using $50,000 in district funds to build and operate a dog obedience school called Superdog.

Both parties in Wyllie’s case have noted that since early June 2020, they have regularly submitted reports to the court regarding their ongoing discussions on Wyllie’s medical conditions and collaborated on how the case will proceed in light of those conditions.

Yet over the course of more than two-and-half years, both parties still said in the Jan. 11 status report that they have not decided what will happen in the case.

It’s still not known if the case will ever go to trial, as Wyllie’s attorney Dan Webb, promised after his client’s arraignment in 2017.

“While the parties are not yet in a position to determine how this case will ultimately proceed, the parties will continue their dialogue regarding Mr. Wyllie’s medical conditions and what work remains to be done before they are in a position to determine how this case will proceed,” the Jan. 11 status report said.

The next status hearing has been set for April 13. By April 6, both parties are slated to once again file a status report.

Wyllie continues to collect pension income from the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois as his case remains pending in court. If Wyllie is convicted of the charges against him, he could lose that pension.

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 school 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 were financed by $225 million in bonds. Taxpayers in the district continue to pay off those bonds.