Alderman Hospitalized After Fall

Chicago, IL. - Ald. Brian Doherty (41st) was hospitalized with a "nasty head wound" today — and the paramedic who treated the "combative" alderman was slightly injured — after Doherty fell down a flight of stairs at his Far Northwest Side home.

Doherty, 51, is the City Council's lone Republican. He was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit of Resurrection Hospital. Barring further complications, he is expected to be released Tuesday.

"Ald. Doherty ... slipped and fell down a set of steps. He suffered a major contusion to the back of his head causing him to become disoriented and requiring him to be taken to Resurrection Hospital," the alderman's press secretary Michael Gamboney said in a statement.

"The alderman is still undergoing tests, and the doctors believe he will fully recover."

Gamboney refused to say whether Doherty was drinking or intoxicated at the time of the fall. He would only say the alderman was "at home with his family" at the time of the fall.

The injured paramedic was among those summoned to Doherty's home at 12:15 a.m. Monday. He was treated and released at Resurrection.

"The alderman had fallen down about 15 steps and had a real nasty head wound. While they were treating him, he became somewhat combative, which is not unusual in a head wound. You become disoriented. You're not sure what's going on around you. One of the paramedics suffered a back strain in the process," said a source familiar with the incident.

Pressed to describe the nature of Doherty's injury, the source said, "He hit his head coming down and had a pretty good laceration. That's why they gave him a CT-scan. They were worried he might have done some damage on the inside."

Two years ago, Doherty accused his aldermanic challengers of "last-minute dirty politics, Chicago-style" for posting a spliced-together home video on YouTube in an attempt to show the incumbent aldermen drinking at Northwest Side bars, then getting behind the wheel.

At the time, Doherty acknowledged he drinks and drives two or three times a week, sometimes after playing basketball with his buddies. But if he drinks more than it would take to exceed the 0.08 legal limit, Doherty said he keeps the car keys in his pocket.

"The question is, do I get drunk and drive. If that's the question, the answer is no. I take a cab. I get a ride home," the alderman said.

Pressed on whether he drinks and drives, Doherty said, "Yes — within the legal limits. I wouldn't get on the expressway and go do it. But I can have a couple of beers after playing basketball with the guys and get in the car and go home. I live a mile away. A man my size can probably have two beers within an hour and be under the limit."
Gamboney said that the timing of Doherty's injury was "strange." It comes just one week after the fatal head injury that 45-year-old actress Natash Richardson suffered in a skiing accident.