Brian Urlacher Endorses Joe Clement For Joliet Council: Photos

JOLIET, IL — Brian Urlacher, one of the Chicago Bears all-time greats, made good on his promise to attend Joliet City Council candidate Joe Clement's charity fund-raiser Sunday afternoon at the IBEW Local 176 Banquet Hall on the frontage road near Interstate 55.

From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Urlacher was busy signing autographs and posing for photos with Joliet area Chicago Bears fans.

Everybody was smiling inside the banquet hall. Urlacher told Joliet Patch's editor he was having a great time, and he was glad to make the trip to visit Joliet on behalf of Clement's candidacy.

Patch interviewed Clement around 1:30 p.m. as the two-hour charity auction was just getting underway.

"Very happy with the turnout. I'm very, very excited. My family, my friends, people in the community to get to come here and enjoy Brian and the atmosphere and I appreciate everybody coming out and supporting me for my election bid," Clement said. "We have silent auction items. All of those balls, all of the proceeds are going to all the Joliet food banks. I'm excited about that, to help the citizens of Joliet. It's going really good so far."

Tickets to attend the Urlacher event were $54 per person; 54, of course, was Urlacher's Chicago Bears jersey number.

Clement retired last August after more than 27 years with the Joliet Police Department. Clement has served on the Joliet Park Board the past four years and now hopes to win one of the three open seats for Council at-large. A total of 12 people are on the ballot.

Urlacher told Patch that he wants the residents of Joliet to vote for Clement. Urlacher and his wife, Jennipher Frost Urlacher, are close friends with Clement's sister.

Urlacher said he did not want to pass up the chance to offer his political support for Clement's campaign and sign several footballs and jerseys that were all being auctioned for a dozen Joliet area food pantries and charities at Sunday's event.

"It's for a good cause and Joe's a good dude," Urlacher told Joliet Patch. "Get out and vote for Joe. I think he has a lot of good ideas and I think he'll do a lot of good for the community on the City Council."

Urlacher told Patch that retirement from the NFL is going great. He has been living in Arizona in recent years and he's enjoying watching his children grow and spending time with them.

"Things are going great," he said.

Urlacher said that he has no plans at all to pursue political office himself.

Former city of Joliet deputy liquor commissioner Jim Greenan attended Sunday's Urlacher charity fund-raiser. Greenan said he worked with Clement for many years in the city of Joliet's liquor commissioner's office. Greenan said Clement was an exemplary city employee and "he did a good job on the Park District, and I think he'll do a good job on the City Council."

Patch asked Greenan if he's pretty confident of a Clement victory on April 6.

"I think so," Greenan responded without hesitation. "He'll work very hard. Nobody will out work him."