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Ald. Walter Burnett Punched Outside His Near West Side Office

By Stephanie Lulay | April 21, 2016 9:43pm | Updated on April 21, 2016 10:13pm
 Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) was punched outside his ward office before a meeting with ward residents Thursday night, according to a witness. 
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) was punched outside his ward office before a meeting with ward residents Thursday night, according to a witness. 
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

NEAR WEST SIDE — A veteran Chicago alderman was punched outside his ward office Thursday night, according to a witness. 

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) was talking with a resident outside the Near West Side's 27th Ward office about 7 p.m. Thursday when an unknown man punched him, knocking him to the ground, a witness said. 

"Someone burst inside [the office] and said 'Help! Help! Please help! The alderman is being attacked,'" the witness said.

The man is believed to have unexpectedly "spun around and clocked him." 

RELATED: ALD. BURNETT SAYS ATTACKER SAID HIS NAME WAS LUCIFER

At the time, a number of West Loop and Near West Side residents were at the office, 4 N. Western Ave., for ward night, a twice-weekly designated time where constituents can ask questions and air their concerns with the alderman. 

Burnett refused medical attention, according to unconfirmed scanner reports. The witness said Burnett was "shaken, but OK," and continued with ward night. 

"He still invited us in to talk," the neighbor said. 

Chicago Police confirmed that an elected official was battered Thursday night with non-life-threatening injuries. A suspect is in custody, and charges were pending as of Friday morning, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago police spokesman.

The alderman could not be immediately reached Thursday night. But on Friday, he told DNAinfo that the man "said he was going to get me and get the mayor."

Earlier this month, Burnett's bike was stolen from the locked 27th Ward office, according to CBS2. 

In his sixth term, Burnett represents parts of the West Loop, Greektown, Garfield Park, the Near North Side, Old Town, West Humboldt Park, West Town, the Medical District and Goose Island neighborhoods.

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