James Cappleman, one of the city's two openly gay aldermen, said that a woman chased him after he called police on her for public drinking twice Friday evening.

"She got mad, reached into her blouse and started chasing me," Cappleman said.

According to Cappleman, he called police on the woman for drinking in a public way around 4:00 p.m. Friday. She was ticketed, and Cappleman returned to his office. When he walked the neighborhood two hours later, he saw the woman drinking again and signaled to her that he was calling police.

The woman allegedly chased him, while witnesses told Cappleman she had a knife.

"She has a history of pulling a knife and holding it to people's necks," Cappleman said. He added that the woman pushed another man, who bumped into Cappleman and caused him to fall into a flower bed.

Cappleman said the woman, who goes by both Charmane Boone and Shermain Miles, has 448 arrests.

Friday is the second violent incident involving Cappleman recently. He also filed charges against a woman who allegedly pushed him and threw bread crumbs at him.

Cappleman said that both women have repeatedly harassed ward residents and that the criminal justice system has failed them. He wants the two to enter programs that break those arrest cycles.

The alderman recently sold his car and relies on public transportation, walking and biking to get around. He frequently walks the ward on Friday nights when public drinking is common occurrence, he said.

Cappleman is a former social worker, and he has faced unsafe situations before, he said. Still, he wants his recent experiences to draw attention to the issues facing 46th Ward residents.

"I'm used to being in some pretty tough circumstances, but I'm going to be 60 in a few months," he said. "I don't want to be killed over public drinking."