Man With ‘Gun’ Disrupts Court

Two lawyers were taken hostage for about three hours today at the Traffic Court Building by a man carrying a toy gun who became angered when his court case was delayed.

No one was injured in the incident, which ended at about 1:30 p.m. when the man surrendered. Cook County Associate Circuit Judge Carl Cipolla fled the room after the man produced the gun, which was not immediately recognized as a toy. “When I saw him go for his suit coat, being a city kid, I ran,” Cipolla told reporters. “I was out before he could wave it (the gun) at me.”