After Pardon By Trump, Casey Urlacher Wins Reelection As Write-In

METTAWA, IL — Despite not having his name on the ballot in this month's municipal election, incumbent Mettawa Village President Casey Urlacher secured enough write-in votes to defeat the only person whose name did appear on the ballot — former Village President Jess Ray, who ran as part of the Back to the Future Party.

All valid late-arriving votes to arrive ahead of the deadline at 5 p.m. Tuesday have been tallied, according to the Lake County Clerk's Office, which plans to certify the results as final Thursday following an official canvassing.

Urlacher earned 157 votes to Ray's 106, according to the clerk's office. Of the town's approximately 550 registered voters, nearly 60 percent voted in the election, compared to 14 percent of the county as a whole.

The unofficial final count also shows three candidates from the Back to the Future Party that ran alongside Ray lost to a slate of two incumbents — Denis Bohm and John Maier — and newcomer Carol Batson-Armstrong.

Four years ago, 255 Mettawa residents cast votes for village president, according to the clerk's office. In 2017, Urlacher of the Keeping Mettawa Green Party defeated Tom Lys of Conserving Mettawa's Traditions Party by a vote of 193 to 62.

RELATED: Trump Pardons Illinois Mayor Casey Urlacher In Gambling Case

Urlacher, the younger brother of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, was indicted in February 2020 on federal conspiracy charges. He faced one count of participating in a gambling conspiracy and one count of conducting an illegal gambling business and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Casey Urlacher pleaded not guilty in March 2020. Later that month, Brian Urlacher posted images showing him visiting Trump with an autographed jersey and donated about $5,000 to Trump's political committees. Trump pardoned Casey Urlacher on his final day in office.

"We are very thankful that out of all of the thousands of petitions for pardon submitted to the president that he read and appreciated all of the outstanding qualities and decency that Casey poses and saw fit to grant him a pardon," Mike Gillespie, Casey Urlacher's attorney, said in a statement at the time.

No other participants in the alleged illegal sports betting ring received presidential pardons. Since then, four have pleaded guilty, including the man prosecutors said was the ringleader, Vincent "Uncle Mick" Delgiudice, and Nicholas Stella, a Chicago cop jailed during the trial amid domestic violence allegations.