Ald. John Arena (45th) View Full Caption 45th Ward Office

JEFFERSON PARK — A woman who claims Ald. John Arena pushed and poked her after she refused to remove a button promoting a rival campaign at an unveiling of several honorary street signs in September is suing the alderman.

Regina Przyby, 55, told police Arena pushed, poked and verbally assaulted her on Sept. 1 after telling her to remove a button supporting Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido, who is challenging Arena for the 45th Ward seat on the Chicago City Council.

Arena's actions injured Przyby, cost her money and inflicted emotional suffering, according to the lawsuit. It seeks at least $50,000 in damages.

The lawsuit is politically motivated and the accusations are without merit, said Joanna Klonsky, a spokeswoman for Arena.

"This effort to score cheap political points harkens back to a kind of old Chicago politics that we should all have moved forward from by now," Klonsky said.

Neither Przyby nor her attorney, Sean Baker, returned phone messages Thursday afternoon.

Garrido, who lost to Arena in 2011 by 30 votes, said he and his campaign have nothing to do with the lawsuit, or the altercation between Arena and Przyby.

"Ald. Arena should take an introspective look into his behavior before pointing fingers at others for his alleged actions," Garrido said in a statement. "This is not a political issue — it's one personal to him."

Arena said he asked Przyby to remove the button supporting Garrido, telling her that the ceremony renaming several streets near Lawrence and Milwaukee avenue in honor of the area's Polish community was not an appropriate place for politics. The renaming was part of the Taste of Polonia festival at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave.

Przyby said Arena poked her on the left side of her chest with his finger, told her to go away and called her an "evil b----," according to the police report. Arena then pushed her with his shoulder, Przyby told police.

In the report she made to police, Przyby said she refused to remove the button, citing her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

As she turned to walk away, Przyby told police Arena "shoved her back with his hands, pushing her" and called her an an "evil b----" again, according to the report, which Przyby filed in person at the Jefferson Park Police District station less than an hour after the incident.

Arena said that while about a dozen people were lined up for photographs for local newspapers, Przyby pushed her way to the front of the line and made "incidental contact" with both him and his wife.

Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman, said he could not comment on a pending investigation.

A spokeswoman for the office of Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan, who investigates allegations of wrongdoing against alderman, said she could neither confirm nor deny that the office was investigating Arena's conduct in this matter.

Przyby "did not demonstrate any aggressive acts toward ... Arena," according to the lawsuit.

Michelle Baert, who publishes a website and Facebook page filled with listings for family-friendly activities as the 45th Ward Mom, and Michael Diaz, who works as an attorney for the state of Illinois in the department that regulates banks, are also running for 45th Ward alderman.

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