BRIGHTON PARK — Police are looking for the man who allegedly vandalized Ald. Raymond Lopez’s Brighton Park home early Thursday.
At about 1:15 a.m., a man “cased” Lopez’s house for several minutes and then grabbed four bricks and threw them one by one, breaking two of Lopez’s windows, the 15th Ward alderman said during an interview with WGN.
Lopez told WGN the man returned an hour later with another person to set a neighbor’s garage on fire, possibly mistaking it for Lopez’s.
“My husband saw it and quickly grabbed our hose to put out the fire, limiting the damage to my neighbor’s garage,” Lopez said. “But the smell of the gasoline and the accelerant was noticeable.”
Lopez thanked the Police and Fire departments for their quick response, as well as an eyewitness who saw the vandals as they left.
The alderman told WGN he thinks the overnight vandalism was done in retaliation for him cracking down on landlords who “turn a blind eye to gangbanging, drug-dealing tenants” who wreak havoc on the neighborhood.
“This was meant to sent a message. It failed,” Lopez said.
A police spokesperson said there was a report of vandalism about 1:18 p.m. A garage door was lit, but it did not catch on fire, and two bricks were thrown.
It’s unclear if the garage door fire was related to the windows being broken, police said.
Lopez could not be reached for comment.
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