Federal prosecutors probing Lincoln-Way High School District 210 issued another grand jury subpoena in December, this time for payment records to a lettering company tied to an employee who did private work for ex-Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie, records show.
The subpoena, issued Dec. 21, asked for all records related to work done by Evans Custom Lettering from January 2005 to the present, including invoices, quotes, payments and communications. District officials this week confirmed that Evans Custom Lettering is connected to Tom Evans, a district employee who in 2013 acknowledged doing private side jobs for Wyllie.
Lincoln-Way projects further loss of enrollment, but plans to maintain 3 high schools Zak Koeske
For the first time in a decade, enrollment at Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 has dipped below 7,000 students, and district officials said they believe it will continue to decline modestly in the coming years.
Enrollment projections presented at a recent school board meeting, which…
For the first time in a decade, enrollment at Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 has dipped below 7,000 students, and district officials said they believe it will continue to decline modestly in the coming years.
Enrollment projections presented at a recent school board meeting, which…
(Zak Koeske)
Lincoln-Way paid Evans Custom Lettering nearly $420,000 dating back to 2005, district records show. The bulk of those payments were made between the 2007 and 2009 fiscal years, records show.
An account history for the superintendent’s emergency fund shows the district paid the firm for a variety of work, including championship signs, striping, plaques, and lettering at Lincoln-Way North.
Lincoln-Way hired a private investigator in September 2013 to look into a Freedom of Information Act request by the education support union that indicated school employees did private work benefiting Wyllie on public time, records show.
Lincoln-Way’s former grounds director, Paul Gonzalez, admitted ordering an employee to create a memorial plaque for Wyllie’s father in an interview with the private investigator, records show.
Gonzalez, who later resigned, also admitted ordering "a few school district employees" to remove a large sign from the entrance to Wyllie’s Frankfort subdivision and reinstall it once it had been repainted, according to the report.
Evans was one of the employees interviewed by the private investigator, records show. He acknowledged creating signs for Wyllie and his Frankfort subdivision but said it was done during his personal time. He said he has "never used school district supplies or property for personal use," the report states.
Evans, who is retired, did not return messages this week seeking comment.
Lincoln-Way withheld the private investigator’s report from the public until last March, when an attorney for the district released the record following a Daily Southtown appeal with the Illinois attorney general’s office contesting the district’s action.
Coverage: Lincoln-Way School District 210Read more stories
A Daily Southtown investigation since January 2016 has revealed questionable financial practices at Lincoln-Way, private uses of public resources and deals benefiting insiders at the district.
Lincoln-Way landed on the state’s financial watch list in 2015, where it remains, after years of overspending despite ostensibly balanced budgets. The district’s operating reserves atrophied from more than $26 million in 2009 to about $2.8 million in 2015.
In May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a subpoena for records relating to the district’s finances and compensation for Wyllie, who led the district from 1989-2013. Wyllie has not been charged with any crime.
A man who answered Wyllie’s cell phone Wednesday hung up when a Tribune reporter identified himself. Wyllie did not return subsequent messages seeking comment.
Prosecutors previously subpoenaed the Frankfort Square Park District for records relating to Superdog, a controversial dog training school built by Wyllie that Wyllie’s successor, Scott Tingley, has acknowledged had no student benefit or board approval.
A July subpoena sought additional records from the district, including personnel records relating to employees involved with Superdog.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in June opened a separate securities investigation and subpoenaed Lincoln-Way’s bonds, budgets and annual financial reports.
Lincoln-Way reports savings from North closure Susan DeMar Lafferty
At the halfway mark in its fiscal year, Lincoln-Way High School District 210 has saved nearly $400,000 in operations and maintenance costs by closing its North High School in June, according to Rich Wilkey, director of buildings and grounds.
Wilkey gave a report to the school board’s finance committee…
At the halfway mark in its fiscal year, Lincoln-Way High School District 210 has saved nearly $400,000 in operations and maintenance costs by closing its North High School in June, according to Rich Wilkey, director of buildings and grounds.
Wilkey gave a report to the school board’s finance committee…
(Susan DeMar Lafferty)
Tingley in October acknowledged being "in contact" with the FBI and said he’s cooperating with the investigation.
After landing on the watch list, the school board voted to shutter Lincoln-Way North as a cost-saving measure, even though the school is less than a decade old. A community group’s lawsuit to prevent North’s closure was dismissed by a Will County judge in June.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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