Billy Corgan’s brother mugged by 5 suspects on Near North Side CTA train
BY TINA SFONDELES AND STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporters June 9, 2011 8:06PM
Updated: August 3, 2011 6:27PM
Chicago rocker Billy Corgan described his brother’s mugging early Thursday on a Red Line train as “sad and terrible.”
“He was just sitting there on the train, listening to his iPod,” Corgan told the Chicago Sun-Times Thursday evening. “They obviously set him up to rob him.” Jesse Andersen, 35, of Evanston, was on a Red Line train about 4:30 a.m., heading to his job at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, when he was attacked, Andersen told WLS-Channel 7. The attack left Andersen bruised, but he didn’t require a trip to the hospital. Andersen told Channel 7 he’s had no previous problems with people bothering him on the train. Later Thursday, Billy Corgan took to his Twitter account to describe what happened: “My little brother Jesse was attacked and robbed this morning by 3 men,” he wrote. Corgan directed his followers to Anderson’s Facebook page to “send him some love.” Corgan also applauded his brother’s efforts to talk about what happened: “My brother Jesse just finished an interview with a 2nd tv station about being mugged. The bad guys picked the wrong kid to f--- with!” Police are investigating whether the incident was connected to any other similar robberies in the same area, including one on the Brown Line on Wednesday. One victim was hospitalized in that attack, in which a wallet and an iPhone were taken.
