Chicago Political Violence - 1st Ward Alderman Daniel La Spata Campaign Offices Attacked Overnight
First Ward Alderman Daniel La Spata's office in Logan Square was vandalized overnight Feb 3, 2023Police responded after midnight to a 911 report of two men wearing all black smashing windows at our Milwaukee staff and volunteer office (LaSpapta is a member of the Chicago City Council Democratic Socialist Caucus and Democratic Socialists of America )
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2023
LOGAN SQUARE, CHICAGO—Overnight on Friday, February 3rd, unidentified vandals attacked the campaign office for 1st Ward Alderman Daniel La Spata. Windows were smashed across the entire glass storefront of the temporary campaign headquarters—a former convenience grocer located at 2110 N Milwaukee Ave across the street from the historic Congress Theater building.
Police responded to a call of criminal damage in progress at 12:44am reporting two individuals wearing all black breaking windows at the location.
There were no signs of forced entry and nothing was stolen in the attack, seemingly ruling out robbery as a motive.
La Spata has three challengers in the race, all of whom are trailing in endorsements and fundraising (Daily Line, Feb 1). Daniel has been a popular first term alderman, winning in 2019 with over 60% of the vote.
Police detectives responded in the early hours of the morning, saying that initial signs that vandals approached from the alley and used a bat or tool to smash windows, according to Josh Kaufman campaign manager, who arrived at the scene with them after 1am.
No staff were onsite overnight at the office location. The office typically houses as many as six campaign staff & interns throughout the day and serves as a launching point for groups of campaign volunteers.
Daniel was first notified in the middle of the night by phone call from Police District 14. La Spata was shocked and concerned by the news. Josh Kaufman, campaign manager, said “We’re concerned that this is political retribution. Even at the beginning of our campaign in back in October, we experienced attacks that felt like old-school Chicago politics.”
La Spata said, “If vandals thought they would frighten or intimidate our staff and volunteer teams, they didn’t succeed. Honestly, I believe this will only energize the base of neighborhood support that we’ve seen so far.”
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Ald. Daniel La Spata’s Campaign Office Windows Smashed In Overnight Attack
Two people wearing all black smashed the windows of La Spata's campaign headquarters early Friday, police said. La Spata said he's concerned it's "political retribution."
by Mina Bloom
10:58 AM CST on Feb 3, 2023
LOGAN SQUARE — Police are investigating after vandals destroyed 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata’s Logan Square campaign office early Friday.
About 12:45 a.m. Friday, two people wearing all black smashed all of the front windows of La Spata’s campaign headquarters at 2110 N. Milwaukee Ave., according to the alderman’s campaign and a preliminary police report.
Nothing was stolen from the office, and there were no signs of forced entry, according to La Spata’s campaign.
The vandals went through the alley and used a bat or a tool to smash the windows, defacing the office, said La Spata’s campaign manager, Josh Kaufman, who was briefed by police on the scene.
The office has a Ring camera, but it wasn’t operational at the time of the attack, La Spata’s campaign said.
In a statement, La Spata said he’s concerned the vandalism is “political retribution.”
La Spata has held the 1st Ward seat since 2019. He’s running against former 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, community leader Andy Schneider and attorney Sam Royko in the municipal election, which is Feb. 28.
“Even at the beginning of our campaign in back in October, we experienced attacks that felt like old-school Chicago politics,” La Spata said.
A man threw a drink at La Spata in October as he was biking through West Town with supporters. Former political hopeful Bob Zwolinski — who lost a 2016 election for Illinois state representative — claimed responsibility for the incident on Twitter.
“If vandals thought they would frighten or intimidate our staff and volunteer teams, they didn’t succeed,” La Spata said. “Honestly, I believe this will only energize the base of neighborhood support that we’ve had.”
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Sources for Report
Our Campaign Offices Attacked Overnight Feb 3 2023
Police responded after midnight to a 911 report of two men wearing all black smashing windows at our Milwaukee staff and volunteer office
https://www.daniellaspata.com/news-updates/our-campaign-offices-attacked-overnight
Daniel La Spata Daniel La Spata We were awakened overnight night to shocking news. Police responded to a 911 call at 12.44a to two men wearing black attacking my campaign office. Nothing was stolen. Clearly other motives.
12:00 PM · Feb 3, 2023
https://twitter.com/DanielLaSpata/status/1621569385214132230?s=20&t=PidfgbBT-wFPoku05VKwlQ
Ald. Daniel La Spata’s Campaign Office Windows Smashed In Overnight Attack
by Mina Bloom 10:58 AM CST on Feb 3, 2023
Daniel La Spata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_La_Spata
Chicago City Council Democratic Socialist Caucus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_City_Council_Democratic_Socialist_Caucus
List of Democratic Socialists of America public officeholders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Democratic_Socialists_of_America_public_officeholders
