LINCOLN PARK — An alderman lost her phone at DePaul University this week, but got it right back thanks to a Lincoln Park mom.
"I feel so embarrassed," Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) said Wednesday. "I left my phone in a public place." DePaul, to be precise, where she was paying a visit midday Tuesday.
Once she discovered it missing, Smith returned to her office at 2523 N. Halsted St. and tracked it through the iPhone's iCloud system.
"It appeared to be in a park," she said.
"I did just what I tell my constituents to do," Smith said. "I called 911."
Police, acting on their own without Smith being present, tracked the phone to Jonquil Park, 1023 W. Wrightwood Ave.
"It turned out," Smith said, "it was a mom with two kids who said she'd found it" at DePaul.
"They said they knew who it belongs to, and she happily gave it up," Smith added. "I really need to thank the police and the nice person of the day, the Lincoln Park mom who did the right thing ... picking up the phone and trying to figure out who exactly to turn it in to."
Smith said it was about 1½ hours from when she left the phone behind to when she got it back. No police report was filed.
The Crime in Wrigleyville + Boystown website originally reported on the recovery, but suggesting the phone had been "stolen."
"I'm not going to comment on what people write in blogs," Smith said.
