Former state senator McCann taken into custody after violation of pre-trial release order

A U.S. District Court Judge has detained former state senator and gubernatorial candidate William "Sam" McCann before a Monday bench trial, after prosecutors accused him of repeatedly violating his bond order.

Central District of Illinois Judge Colleen Lawless said that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois proved "clear and convincing" evidence that McCann had violated the conditions of his pre-trial release set back in 2021 when McCann was indicted on federal wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges.

The prosecutors filed a motion Thursday saying that McCann failed to notify the probation office regarding his return home following a recent stint in a St. Louis-area hospital. That pushed back what had been a planned Monday start to the trial.

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During a series of status hearings following his unexpected hospitalization, McCann was ordered to contact the probation office when he was released from Missouri Baptist Medical Center and when he returned to his Macoupin County home.

He did inform the probation office around 2 p.m. Wednesday that he was leaving the hospital, but attempts to reach him later were allegedly unsuccessful.

The motion also says that prosecutors remain concerned that McCann may still have in his possession some firearms that were ordered to be removed from his home after he was indicted in February 2021, another violation of the initial bond order.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass said in the motion that the evidence provided showed "clear and convincing" evidence McCann had provided false information to the court and failing to comply with court orders on timely communication. They asked for him to either be arrested or to be forced to appear at a hearing Friday at 9 a.m. discussing the matter.

Central District Court Judge Colleen Lawless opted to set up the hearing, where McCann asked that his cellphone be reviewed in order to support his side of the argument. Lawless found that unconvincing and ruled in favor of the government.

McCann will now be held in the custody of U.S. Marshals before the start of the trial on Monday at 9 a.m. He is being held at the Macon County Jail in Decatur.

McCann was a state senator for eight years from 2011-19, first winning office in 2010 in the 49th Senate District before being redistricted into the 50th District.

Frustrated with the actions of then-Gov. Bruce Rauner on a range of issues from abortion to taxes, McCann made a third-party run for governor in 2018, running under the Conservative Party label. He managed to get 192,527 votes, around 4% of the statewide total.

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His best performances came in west-central Illinois, in counties such as Greene, Scott and Pike, where he got over 30% and finished ahead of Democrat J.B. Pritzker, the eventual winner.

McCann has not been in politics since his departure from the Senate, where he was replaced by Steve McClure.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Former Illinois state senator detained after violating pre-trial order