SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he illegally spent more than $200,000 in campaign funds on debts and personal expenses and to pay himself.
The State-Journal-Register reports the 51-year-old Plainview Republican was appointed a public defender during a hearing Tuesday after he told a magistrate that he was unemployed, being supported by his wife, and had more than $30,000 in credit card debt and loans.
McCann was indicted February 3rd on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
He was a state senator from 2011 to early 2019,
