The Downfall of Sam McCann
Former Sen. Sam McCann outside of the federal courthouse in Springfield Monday. (Photo: Capitol News Illinois)
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
OPINION
Sam McCann was always considered a bit of a handful in the Senate.
When I joined the Senate Communications staff in early 2013, I was assigned to McCann, probably because I was the new guy who was tasked with the job nobody else wanted.
McCann was a very charming guy with his West Virginia-born drawl and buttoned up demeanor. In private, he was kind and considerate and proud of his family.
But he was always a bit of a wild card.
At one point, another staffer and I had to babysit McCann to make sure he didn’t vote against a good gun bill because he was unhappy it “wasn’t good enough.”
He had a bit of modern-day Darren Bailey in him, where he believed everything he was doing the right thing in God’s eyes and it caused him some headaches and strained relationships within the Senate Republican caucus, and, of course, with then-GOP king Governor Bruce Rauner.
We continued to stay in touch after I left the Senate, including some long phone calls when he was trying to determine his future plans in 2017. I won’t share the nature of those conversations, but let’s just say his statewide ambitions were misguided from the start.
McCann ended up lured into the 2018 gubernatorial race by pro-Democratic union sources and McCann took the bait. He ran as a third party and had Bruce Rauner not run such a pathetic 2018 campaign, McCann could have cost him the race in November. McCann, of course, wasn’t really a factor in the race.
But in 2021, McCann was accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses and indicted on fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges. Prosecutors said McCann used campaign funds to buy personal vehicles, pay personal debts, make mortgage payments, and to pay himself.
His trial was scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Springfield, but was delayed after McCann fired his court-appointed public defender and asked to represent himself.
“I've been counting on other people to do everything they could do for me,” McCann told Capitol News Illinois, who was covering the trial. “And that hasn't worked out. And so now I'm going to do everything I can do. And we'll let the good Lord take care of the rest.”
To be fair, it’s hard to come up with a defense to a bunch of hard copy financial transactions, but hey.
McCann isn’t a lawyer, he didn’t finish college. Federal court is a hard place for seasoned attorneys, so his choice doesn’t bode well for his chances.
His new trial is scheduled for February.
