Brookins with a fractured skull, broke his nose, and knocked out a few teeth. The attack came after Brookins had given a series of speeches denouncing squirrels in Chicago saying "It's a pet peeve. It does invoke some giggles. But we are spending too much money on replacing garbage carts because the squirrels continue to eat through 'em," and "I get calls [with residents saying], 'I need a new garbage can.' I just gave you a garbage can. [And the caller says], 'Well, the squirrels ate through it in two days and nobody wants trash throughout the community. So they keep asking us for garbage cans." A survey found that 11% of the cities garbage carts are damaged, costing $300,000 in repairs. At least some of that damage does come from squirrels. On December 1, 2017, Brookins announced that he was circulating petitions to challenge U.S. Congressman Bobby L. Rush of Chicago's Second Congressional District, but Brookins later withdrew his petitions when Rush ultimately filed to keep his seat, on December 4, 2017. But three days later, on December 7, 2017, Brookins announced his intent to "leave public service" by circulating petitions to fill a vacancy on the Circuit Court of Cook County when the Illinois Courts Commission forced former-judge Valarie Turner into retirement. On January 30, 2018, the Cook County Electoral Board removed Brookins from the ballot for that judicial vacancy after it was determined that Brookins was between 250 to 398 short of the required signatures to get on the ballot. In the runoff of the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, Brookins endorsed Toni Preckwinkle. Personal life Brookins is married to Ebony Taylor-Brookins and has two children: Howard Beamon Brookins III and Harihson B. Brookins. References http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=125243 http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/639649/ex-chief-staff-ald-brookins-sentenced-15-months-prison External links CivicFootprint: 21st ward Video "Run for Cook County States Attorney" Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. Website 1963 births 21st-century American politicians Chicago City Council members Illinois Democrats Illinois lawyers Living people Northern Illinois University alumni Southern Illinois University alumni