Hospitalization delays start of ex-Illinois state senator's federal fraud trail

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The federal wire fraud and money laundering trial against William “Sam” McCann was delayed Monday after court officials learned that the former Illinois state senator was hospitalized over the weekend.

McCann, 54, who waged a third-party campaign for governor in 2018, faces seven counts of wire fraud and single counts of money laundering and tax evasion for allegedly converting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to personal use. He was scheduled to stand trial Monday morning in U.S. District Court.

McCann is representing himself but has a so-called stand-by attorney, Jason Vincent of Springfield. Vincent told U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless that McCann's wife, Vicki, reported driving Sam McCann to a suburban St. Louis hospital Saturday after he became ill and passed out.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass said he had subpoenaed the hospital for medical records and Lawless called another hearing for late Monday afternoon in the hopes of learning details, particularly McCann's status and expected discharge date.

“We are all at this point speculating as to how he got where he is,” Lawless said. “What we do know is that he is in fact hospitalized. What we don't know is the basis for it, the expected plan of care or the expected discharge date.”

Since dismissing his attorneys in November and indicating his intention to defend himself, McCann has sought to postpone the trial to give him more time to prepare. In a Jan. 10 motion, he complained that there were 70,000 pages of evidence filed against him and he could not prepare an adequate defense in the allotted time. Lawless denied the motion.

Although Vicki McCann has not been charged with any crime, Bass told the court she was the treasurer of one or more of Sam McCann's campaign committees and claimed that she benefitted from her husband's fraud.

“The government doesn't credit anything Mr. McCann says or anything Mrs. McCann says,” Bass said. “We want to know when he was admitted, when he's expected to be discharged and his true medical condition.”

Bass requested that McCann's personal recognizance bond be revoked.

McCann was the owner of two construction companies when he beat an incumbent Democratic state senator in 2010. He was re-elected twice and in 2018, waged a third-party campaign for governor, getting 4% of the vote and finishing behind winning Democrat J.B. Pritzker and then-incumbent GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Federal prosecutors indicted McCann in February 2021, alleging schemes on McCann's part to convert money from his state senate and gubernatorial campaign funds for personal use.

He allegedly used more than $60,000 in campaign funds to buy a 2017 Ford Expedition and a 2018 Ford F-250 pickup, then used more for fuel, loan payments and insurance on both and reimbursed himself for mileage on the truck, money to which he wasn't entitled.

In one alleged setup, McCann used $43,000 to purchase a recreational vehicle and trailer, prosecutors said. Those, he put up for rent through an Ohio-based rental company, but then leased the vehicles from himself using campaign funds. In all, the recreational vehicles' purchase and rental netted McCann another $77,800.

McCann also allegedly paid himself more than $150,000 from senate and governor campaign funds for services he didn't complete used $50,000 for personal credit card bills.