46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman attacked in Uptown. ‘I know the individual who assaulted me. I have sat with him numerous times.’

The alderman said he suffered minor injuries from the attack in the 4700 block of North Racine Avenue.

SHARE 46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman attacked in Uptown. ‘I know the individual who assaulted me. I have sat with him numerous times.’
Ald. James Cappleman (46th) discusses the Lawrence to Bryn Mawr Modernization Project, which is part of the CTA’s $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project, during a news conference near the Bryn Mawr Station in Edgewater on Wednesday, June 2, 2021.

Ald. James Cappleman (46th), shown at a June news conference announcing a CTA upgrade project, suffered minor injuries when he ws struck with a blunt object in Uptown Saturday night. The alderman refused medical attention, according to Chicago police.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

Ald. James Cappleman (46th) said he was attacked Saturday night in Uptown while checking out a resident’s text about “a group of intoxicated individuals.”

Cappleman was struck with a blunt object about 7:15 p.m. in the 4700 block of North Racine Avenue, Chicago police said.

The attack occurred about three blocks north of his ward office. He refused medical attention, police said.

“I am completely fine and my injuries were very minor,” Cappleman wrote in a statement he posted on Twitter.

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“The incident began as I was responding to a text from an upset resident about a group of intoxicated individuals at the corner” of Racine and Leland avenues, Cappleman said. “This area has a history of this type of issue on and off for the past few years, but it has increasingly picked up in the last few months.”

A person was placed into custody and charges were pending, police said.

“I know the individual who assaulted me. I have sat with him numerous times” to discuss the man’s problems, Cappleman said.

Chicago police did not provide additional details regarding the attack, saying “this is an ongoing investigation.”

This is at least the third time the 46th Ward alderman has been attacked while in office.

Cappleman told the Sun-Times in 2012 that Shermain Miles, a career criminal who’s been arrested more than 440 times, charged at him with a knife.

That incident happened about two months after an Uptown woman was charged with battery for allegedly pushing him into the street after he swept up bread crumbs she was feeding pigeons.

Contributing: Madeline Kenney

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