Convicted terrorist re-sentenced to 27 years in prison after 2012 downtown Chicago bomb plot

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man convicted of attempting to detonate a purported bomb outside a crowded Loop bar has been re-sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Adel Daoud of Hillside was serving a 16-year sentence for the September 2012 incident, but federal prosecutors appealed the sentence, saying it was too lenient.

They had asked the judge to impose a 40-year sentence, but a 27-year sentence was decided Friday.

Last year, Daoud was denied compassionate release to tend to his allegedly sick mother.

In 2011, when federal agents began tracking then-west suburban teenager Daoud, investigators say he was looking to blow up 29 potential targets.

The Hillside teen went to a downtown Chicago tavern in 2012 with plans to press a button and detonate a half-ton car bomb, according to investigators. But it was actually an undercover FBI sting operation; the law enforcement ruse ended with Daoud in custody and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

READ MORE: Hillside terrorist uses 'PB and J' explanation in failed attempt to get Loop bomb plot case tossed

The I-Team learned that Daoud has continued a decade of legal wrangling aimed at achieving early freedom. He was previously due to be held at the MCC-Chicago until May 3, 2026.

Over the years, Daoud has written letters and made calls from prison, including some to the I-Team, with outlandish claims, including the presence of "lizard people" and "cosmic aliens" running the U.S. government, and that the judge in his case was a "reptilian overlord."

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Judge Matthew Kennelly previously said Daoud doesn't qualify for compassionate release under the rules, and won't be allowed release on bond.