Politics & Government
After Trump Pardon, Casey Urlacher To Run For IL State Senate
Urlacher was also recently re-elected as the mayor of Mettawa as a write-in candidate.
LAKE, MCHENRY, COOK COUNTIES, IL — Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, who skirted prosecution following a controversial pardon by Donald Trump on the former president's last day in office, has filed papers to run for Illinois' 26th District state Senate seat.
On Thursday, Urlacher, a Republican, filed a statement of organization with the State Board of Elections identifying his political committee as Citizens for Urlacher. The filing means Urlacher can challenge current 26th District state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, in the next election.
In 2016, Urlacher ran unsuccessfully against McConchie in the Republican primary for the 26th District. McConchie has represented the 26th District, which includes portions of Algonquin, Libertyville, Lake Zurich, Barrington, Fox River Grove and Cary, since 2016.
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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, one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
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Casey Urlacher pleaded not guilty in March 2020. Later that month, Brian Urlacher donated about $5,000 to Trump's political committees and posted images showing himself visiting Trump with an autographed jersey.
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.
RELATED: After Pardon By Trump, Casey Urlacher Wins Reelection As Write-In
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.
Urlacher was also recently re-elected as mayor for Mettawa as a write-in candidate. Urlacher has been Mettawa's mayor since 2013.
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