Updated 4/13/2021 5:57 PM
Mayor Casey Urlacher attributed his victorious write-in campaign to the Mettawa residents who urged him to run after he received a pardon from former President Donald Trump.
Urlacher declared victory in the race Friday after the Lake County clerk s office reported he d earned 151 write-in votes in the April 6 election. His opponent, former Mayor Jess Ray, was the only mayoral candidate on the ballot and received 105 votes, according to unofficial results.
Urlacher, currently serving his second term as mayor of Mettawa, a village of about 550 residents, was facing federal gambling charges last year and did not file nominating petitions with the village clerk in December, keeping his name off the April 6 ballot.
Illinois has some of the most liberal voting rules in the nation. None of them seemed to lure Lake County voters to their respective ballot boxes to decide municipal offices, township officials, library, park and school board members. These are decision-makers who have more say about our daily lives than federal or state elected officials.
Lake County officials eager to see if certain 2020 election trends continue into 2021 chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.