William Beavers’ trial postponed until Jan. 4
By KIM JANSSEN Federal Courts Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com December 4, 2012 10:33AM
Updated: December 4, 2012 1:11PM
Cook County Commissioner William Beavers’ tax fraud trial has been postponed to the new year due to the illness of one of his attorneys.
The trial — due to begin Tuesday — is now scheduled for Jan. 4, Judge James Zagel ruled.
Concerns over the health of attorney Vic Henderson, who is suffering from acute bronchitis, had already delayed the trial by a day, and Zagel said further delays would have pushed what’s expected to be a two-week trial deep into the holiday season, causing scheduling problems for jurors.
Beavers, who denies failing to pay income taxes on campaign funds he used for personal expenses, said he was disappointed by the delay. “I wanted to get this over before Christmas,” he said outside court. “I’m going to Gibsons to get me a steak.”
But the postponement does present an opportunity to another of Beavers’ attorneys, Sam Adam Jr., who says he will now spend the next few days discussing with his family whether he will run for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s former seat in Congress.
“I will go out and speak to the people in the 2nd District and see if that’s something they want,” Adam said.
Beavers seemed amused that an impromptu news conference called to discuss his case was quickly turning into a campaign event for Adam. He noted, “I’m the top vote-getter in Cook County out of all the county commissioners — he’s gonna talk to me.”
And Adam’s father — Sam Adam Sr., who teamed up with his son to defend Rod Blagojevich at his first trial — said of Adam Jr.’s potential candidacy, “We’ve got this thing, and it’s effin’ golden!”
