- Credibility:
BRIGHTON PARK — After having a brick thrown through his home window earlier this month, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said vandals attacked his ward office early Thursday morning.
At 4:52 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call reporting criminal damage to property in the 2700 block of West 47th Street, said Officer Kellie Bartoli, a police spokeswoman.
Police officers observed two broken windows and a shattered front door, Bartoli said.
A brick was found at the scene but nothing appeared to be taken and no injuries were reported. Detectives were investigating, Bartoli said.
Ald. Lopez said the broken window comes hours after having them replaced Wednesday.
Earlier this month, a brick was thrown through a window at Lopez’s Brighton Park home during the early morning hours. His ward office was vandalized a week later.
“This is the third attack against us in a month,” he said. “This is very disturbing. This is not just an attack on me. This is a symptom of what our residents go through on a daily basis.”
The South Side alderman said he believed the attacks are a form of “gang intimidation… for his efforts to hold gangs accountable in the community.”
He said his office has been working to hamper an uptick in violence by going after “gangs and landlords who turn a blind eye” to what their tenants are doing.
After the third attack, Ald. Lopez, a vocal critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, criticized the mayor on Twitter, saying she “failed” as “lawlessness continues in Chicago.”
The mayor, Police Supt. Chief David Brown and other city leaders aren’t doing enough to hold gangs accountable, Lopez said.
“I will not waiver… I’m not deterred. I’m going to keep fighting… because obviously gangs and their neighbors are feeling the pressure from what we are doing. We have to persevere.”
In a statement Thursday, a Lightfoot spokesperson pushed back on Lopez’ claims, saying the mayor’s office and police have offered more resources to help the alderman. Police in Lopez’ district increased monitoring of his ward office and his home, including last night, according to the mayor’s office.
“As Mayor Lightfoot has made clear, the criminal conduct against Ald. Raymond Lopez’s office and residence is completely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said. “Access to additional resources remains available to the alderman at all times as we work to combat crimes, including vandalism and destruction of property, in all of Chicago’s neighborhoods.”
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