Former Illinois State Sen. Sam McCann arrested after delays in federal corruption trial

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Former Illinois State Sen. William "Sam" McCann was arrested on Friday, ahead of his trial next week on corruption charges, after a federal judge said he violated the terms of his pretrial release.

McCann, 54, a onetime third-party candidate for governor, originally was supposed to go on trial earlier this week on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, but the trial was delayed after he was hospitalized last weekend.

He had checked himself in to a St. Louis area hospital on Saturday, and was released on Wednesday, and was supposed to check in with the federal probation office when he got home, but failed to do so.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless ordered him taken into custody on Friday, after he claimed he had emailed his probation officer when he got home, but couldn't provide proof, and another probation officer said they had tried several times to reach McCann and his wife without success.

Lawless said McCann's behavior showed a clear pattern and ordered him taken into custody until his trial begins on Monday.

He 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.

McCann is representing himself but has a so-called stand-by attorney, Jason Vincent of Springfield. Vincent told Lawless earlier this week that McCann's wife reported driving McCann to a hospital in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday after he became ill and passed out.

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 mount an adequate defense in the allotted time. Lawless denied the motion.

Federal prosecutors have noted that McCann has claimed health problems previously to seek delay. McCann asked for more time in late January to disclose the list of witnesses he expected to call because he "suffers from various medical ailments which have become particularly symptomatic." He was ordered to supply medical proof. Subsequent unidentified documents were filed under seal.

McCann owned two construction companies when he was elected to the state Senate in 2010. The Republican 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.

A February 2021 indictment laid out McCann's alleged schemes to convert campaign contributions to 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 improperly reimbursed himself for mileage on the truck.

In one alleged setup that netted him $77,800 in campaign money, McCann purchased a recreational vehicle and trailer. He advertised them for rent through an Ohio-based company, then leased the vehicles from himself.

Officials maintain he used a payroll service to mask his receipt of $187,000 in money from his governor committee for work he didn't do and took another $50,000 to pay personal credit card bills.

Hannah Meisel with Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report