Election Day News: Urlacher's Brother Wins Mayor In Mettawa; Ex-Bear McMichael Loses In Romeoville

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 10, 2013 6:20PM

Tuesday’s general elections produced mixed results for two candidates with ties to the Chicago Bears, while youth was served in Des Plaines.

- Casey Urlacher, younger brother of former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, was elected mayor of Mettawa in suburban Lake County with roughly 300 registered voters. Urlacher won 61 percent of the vote. He told WLS-AM his internal polls had him winning by a wider margin, but “a win is a win.”

Urlacher defeated village board Trustee Jeffrey Clark in the election and had the endorsement of current Mayor Jess Ray. He said he’ll apply the teamwork skills he learned from football to government to put the people of Mettawa first.

- Over in Romeoville former Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael lost his mayoral bid, proving, at the very least, being a member of the Super Bowl XX champions only takes one so far. McMichael announced his candidacy last year after customers of his restaurant said he should run. McMichael faced a tough challenge from both incumbent John Noak and his wild man “Mongo” reputation. Noak, in his victory speech, said he was “confident all along” voters would look past McMichael’s celebrity and vote for the best candidate.

McMichael asked voters to hold Noak accountable for his campaign promises and suggested he may attempt another run in four years.

"It seems as if the fat lady has sung," McMichael said, "and this one has been lost.

"But just because the fat lady has sung on this one don't mean that it’s over," he said to cheers. "There is another election in four years, isn't there?"

Maybe McMichael needs to hear it from a buxom bottle blond named Misty.

- Matt Bogusz becomes the youngest person to be elected mayor of Des Plaines at the age of 26. Bogusz, a freshman Des Plaines alderman, defeated former mayor Tony Arredia and fellow alderman Mark Walsten and relied on social media, in addition to old fashioned campaigning, to rally voters. His agenda includes investing in the town’s infrastructure with revenue from Rivers Casino and reducing the town government’s debt load.