COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The lawyer for the wife of CeaseFire Illinois director Tio Hardiman said he should step down from his post after being charged with domestic battery this week.
Prior to Hardiman's appearance in court Saturday, Ferdinand Serpe said he admired the work CeaseFire does - attempting to stop gang violence before it happens - but said Hardiman should no longer lead the anti-violence organization.
"Like any situation, I think the shock is in the organization. They are doing good things," Serpe said.
Hardiman was ordered held on $20,000 bond following the incident. He had previously been sentenced to court supervision following a domestic violence incident with another person in 1999, prosecutors said.
The couple had engaged in a verbal altercation that resulted in Hardiman punching and kicking his wife, prosecutors said. Alison Hardiman, Tio Hardiman's wife, suffered lip bruising and lacerations in the incident, which was witnessed by 20-year-old family member.
As prosecutors presented the case to Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil, nine of Tio Hardiman's supporters, which included members of CeaseFire, stood up from their seats in the courtroom. They all refused to make a statement after the hearing.
Serpe said Alison Hardiman is "physically recovering at home" after suffering bruising and injuries to her head, back, neck, face and torso following a "disagreement" with her husband. He said the Hardimans have been married for eight years.
Hardiman, who helms a group that works to reduce violence, was arrested after his wife came into the Hillside Police Department alleging that she was beaten, Hillside Police Chief Joseph Lukaszek said Friday.
"CeaseFire has developed strict policies to make sure that all employees remain in a good standing," said Gary Slutkin, executive director of CeaseFire's parent organization, Cure Violence, in a statement Friday.
Hardiman is due to appear in court Tuesday in Maywood at 9 a.m., where his wife will ask for a protection order, Serpe said.
