Former Lisle Township candidate charged with striking cop

A 2009 candidate for Lisle Township clerk was arrested Monday after Naperville police said she struck an officer in the chest during an argument over a neighborhood parking dispute.

Virginia Wisdom, 61, is free on bail after being charged with battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Wisdom called 911 multiple times Monday morning to report two illegally parked vehicles in front of her home on the 1500 block of Marquette Avenue, Sgt. Gregg Bell said.

While an officer was writing a ticket for one of the vehicles around 7:15 a.m., Wisdom began yelling at the officer and asking why it took him so long to get there, police said.

Wisdom wanted the officer to write a ticket for a neighbor's car, which was parked across the street from her driveway, but the officer was writing one for a second vehicle parked too close to a fire hydrant, Bell said.

When the officer tried to explain, Bell said Wisdom continued to yell and would not give him the opportunity to speak.

The officer told Wisdom she was going to be issued a citation for misuse of the 911 system for calling multiple times regarding a minor parking problem, police said.

Bell said Wisdom refused to take the ticket and struck the officer in the chest with his ticket book. The officer then told her she was under arrest, but she refused to cooperate.

"She basically ignored this announcement and refused," Bell said. "She had to be physically placed in the handcuffs and arrested."

Wisdom is free on bail and is awaiting an arraignment date.

Wisdom was defeated by Richard Tarulis in 2009 while running for Lisle Township clerk. Before that run, Wisdom unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Naperville Park District board of trustees in 2005.

She ran into trouble during that race and was ordered to remove campaign signs that carried a symbol that resembled the park district's trademarked logo.

She also ran into trouble with park district police in 2003 when she was cited for removing yellow ribbons along Naperville's Riverwalk and throwing the ribbons in the garbage. She told police she opposed the war in Iraq and the ribbons "looked like garbage." Wisdom was banned from the Riverwalk for 10 days.

• Daily Herald Staff Writer Jake Griffin contributed to this report.