Trial of former state senator scheduled to begin Monday in federal court
The trial of a former state senator and gubernatorial candidate accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign funds for personal use is scheduled to begin Monday, three years after he was indicted.
U.S. Central District Judge Colleen Lawless will preside over the bench trial for William "Sam" McCann on federal wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion charges.
McCann was indicted in February 2021 on charges that he misused over $200,000 in campaign funds over five years from May 2015 to June 2020. Prosecutors say the funds were used to pay for a wide range of personal items, such as a Ford Exposition, a Ford F-250, a motor home with a recreational trailer, and a family vacation in Colorado.
He also is accused of using the funds to pay off personal loans and expenses and falsifying his D-2 expenditure reports provided to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
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McCann will represent himself pro se, a request that was granted in November 2023 and required Lawless to push back the start of the trial. Springfield attorney Jason Vincent will serve as stand-by counsel.
The judge will decide his fate in the case.
A state senator from 2011-19, McCann was first elected in 2010 in the 49th Senate District after defeating Democrat Deanna Demuzio.
He was soon redrawn into the 50th Senate District and outside of Republican primary challenges. He won re-election twice unopposed in the new district.
In 2018, he left the Republican Party to make a third-party bid for governor, looking to peel off conservative-leaning voters disenchanted by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner. Running under the Conservative Party label, McCann received 192,527 votes, which was about 4% of the statewide vote.
He did best in west-central Illinois, winning over 30% of votes in Pike, Scott and Greene counties. He finished ahead of Democrat J.B. Pritzker in each of the counties. He also got over 20% in Montgomery County and over 19% in his home county of Macoupin.
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McCann has not returned to politics since, with Steve McClure replacing him in the 50th District.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass will serve as head of the federal prosecution team that includes John David Hoelzer and Tanner Jacobs.
If convicted, McCann could serve up to 25 years in prison.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sam McCann trial to begin Monday in federal court
