COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man broke into Ald. Walter Burnett's Near West Side office last month and stole the alderman's personal bicycle, authorities said Monday.
"I was supposed to do Bike the Drive this weekend, but I don't have a bike," Burnett (27th) said.
Antonio Cortez Means, 44, has been charged with burglary in the April 7 incident, which happened about 5 a.m. at 4 N. Western Ave., court records show.
According to Burnett, video surveillance shows Means pulling on several doors before breaking into the office and heading straight for Burnett's red and white bicycle.
"It took him about three seconds," Burnett said. "He broke into the office. The alarm was going off. ... The first thing he grabbed was the bike, and he ran out."
It's not the only time Burnett has been targeted in recent months. In late April, the veteran alderman was slugged outside his office by man who allegedly called himself "Lucifer."
Burnett on Monday said he doesn't know Means, but suspects the man previously visited Burnett's office and knew what to take.
According to court records, Means lives in the 2700 block of West Harrison Street, which sits in the 28th Ward, outside of Burnett's ward.
The alderman said he's added deadbolt locks to his Near West Side office and already ordered a new bike. He doesn't expect to see the old one again: "It's gone."
Odds are, he's right. DNAinfo previously reported that of the 15,259 bikes that have been reported stolen to the Chicago Police Department since 2010, only 62 have been reported found.
Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. on Monday ordered Means held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
According to his public defender, Means works as a mover and has five children.
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