Alderman Attacked By Squirrel Reveals Revenge Plan: Tougher City Trash Carts

CHICAGO, IL — Watch out, Chicago squirrels. Ald. Howard Brookins is back. And this time, it's personal.

In November, the South Side City Council lawmaker crashed his bike when a squirrel jumped into the spokes of his front wheel, sending Brookins over the handlebars and onto the pavement. Brookins (21st Ward) suffered serious injuries, including a fractured skull, several teeth knocked out and a broken nose. The alderman was hospitalized, and at the time, he said he required "multiple surgeries" thanks to the squirrel's actions, which he likened to "a suicide bomber, getting revenge."

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On Wednesday, Brookins began exacting his own payback against the free-roaming rodents at a hearing before the City Council's Finance Committee. Brookins' request: replacing the city's garbage carts with stronger containers that aren't susceptible to "aggressive squirrels" biting through them, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Two companies that had reached out to Brookins after his accident pitched their solutions to the problem at the hearing, offering fixes not as cost-effective as simply replacing the carts.

But that doesn't mean city officials want to ignore the issues. Charles Williams, streets and sanitation commissioner, said Wednesday he'll try ideas to curtail the damage caused by squirrels and other rodents so long as their make practical and financial sense, the Sun-Times reports. A five-year study revealed that 37 percent of the city's 60,000 carts were damaged by rodents, the report added.

RELATED: Squirrel's Sneak Attack Puts Alderman In The Hospital, Rodent In The Grave

Wednesday's hearing isn't the first time Brookins has set his sights on Chicago's aggro squirrels setting their sights — and teeth — on the city's garbage carts. The alderman brought up the issue during October's City Council budget hearings, nearly a month before the bike "attack."

But Wednesday's hearing doesn't mark the end of Brookins' roaring rampage of revenge. He told the Sun-Times that he'll only have bloody satisfaction when a fix is found to keep the squirrels from destroyng city garbage carts.

And what about the squirrel community? Is Brookins afraid of retalliation now that he's back riding his bike? Does he worry that rodents won't stop until they've crushed the alderman, seen him driven before them and hear the lamentation of his constituents?

"We will see if they’re out to get me," Brookins told the Sun-Times.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

The bicycle of Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. (inset) after he was "attacked" Nov. 13 on the Cal-Sag Trail by a squirrel with a possibly violent agenda. (Inset photo via Patch archive; bike photo via Brookins | Facebook)

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