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.
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.