CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois state senator charged with trying to board a flight with a gun in his carry-on bag said Wednesday he believes he still has a chance to fill Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat in Congress, though his attorney acknowledged there is a "cloud hanging over his head."

State Sen. Donne Trotter, who maintains he forgot the gun was in the bag, appeared in a Cook County court Wednesday in hopes a judge would dismiss the case. Instead, prosecutors, who will have to show he knowingly tried to pass security with the gun in his bag, were given until Jan. 17 for more preparations.

The delay could jeopardize Trotter's chances of getting the Cook County Democratic Party's backing Saturday when it endorses one of the more than dozen Democrats vying for the U.S. House seat.