Former Hoffman mayoral candidate still a fugitive

One-time Hoffman Estates mayoral candidate Christopher Lee Bollyn remained at large Friday, missing his second court date since being convicted by a jury in June.

His attorney told Cook County Judge Hyman Riebman he had spoken with Bollyn by phone and via e-mail, but remains uncertain of his specific whereabouts.

Lawyer Paul Moreschi also said he really "can't explain" his client's absence, though he said he has been told Bollyn's wife is ill and is now seeking medical treatment.

Bollyn, 50, was convicted in June of aggravated assault and resisting arrest. He missed his original sentencing date in June, in addition to Friday's. He faces up to a year in jail.

A warrant is out for his arrest. If he is arrested or turns himself in, he'll be held without bail and will have to pay the remaining $900 of his original $1,000 bond.

Moreschi tried to get the case delayed Friday, saying he'd received documents from a Bollyn family friend -- a pediatrician -- confirming Bollyn's wife's medical issues.

Moreschi also asked to be removed as Bollyn's attorney. Riebman denied that request.

Requests for a new trial and reversal of the conviction are pending, but won't be argued without Bollyn present.

The case began a year ago, when Bollyn, a writer who lost in Hoffman Estates' 2000 mayor primary, called 911 to report a suspicious car.

The car turned out to be an unmarked police squad, and prosecutors said a wrestling match ensued in Bollyn's yard when the officers came back to identify themselves. Bollyn suffered a broken elbow and he alleged police brutality.

At the trial, prosecutors said the officers, who tackled Bollyn and stunned him with a Taser, were defending themselves against an irate man who made a fist in an officer's face and yelled that he was going inside to "get reinforcements."

Defense attorneys said police used excessive force.

Bollyn has written pieces alleging the government was involved in covering up a Sept. 11 conspiracy, and said the arrest was an attempt to suppress him and his views.

His court absences have spawned online speculation from supporters and others as to his whereabouts.

Bollyn said in an Internet posting last August that he intended to seek asylum in Norway or in Switzerland. Bollyn's wife, Helje Kaskel, is from Estonia; the family traveled abroad frequently.