A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an attack on Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) last month outside a bar in River North.
Antonio Palazzi, 35, is accused of jumping Reilly about 10:35 p.m. Feb. 18 outside Boss Bar, 420 N. Clark St., while the downtown alderman was waiting for friends inside to settle their tabs, Chicago police said.
A warrant was issued for Palazzi’s arrest and he was taken into custody about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday in Roscoe Village, police said. Cook County court records show he was charged with a count of misdemeanor battery.
Reilly previously told the Chicago Sun-Times he was attacked by two people, and last week, police said they had identified two people of interest in connection with the beating.
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On Thursday, however, police spokesman Anthony Spicuzza said “further investigation revealed there is only one offender from this incident.”
Reilly said he was attacked after a man started yelling at him from across the street, but that he believes that the beating was random and a case of mistaken identity.
“I can’t for the life of me understand what he’s saying. He looked absolutely furious. Enraged. The next thing I know, the guy’s on top of me. I’m on the ground. He’s trying to punch me in my head,” Reilly told the Sun-Times.
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Reilly didn’t call 911 or file a police report because he didn’t require medical attention, he said.
“I just wanted to go home. … I just didn’t think that warranted police attention on what is typically a busy night in downtown Chicago,” he said.
