Prior to the attack, Andrew O'Connell, 31, was reportedly, at a bar watching a Chicago Bears football game.
"He's my little brother, but my big brother too," said Liz Wos, the victim's sister.
For nearly a week, O'Connell has been in a medically-induced coma.
"It has been a nightmare, one that shouldn't happen to anybody," said Wos.
Liz Wos, the youngest of the eight O'Connell siblings, says that her brother was severely beaten during the early morning hours last Friday, shortly after he was leaving a bar on Taylor Street in Little Italy.
"We've heard things like multiple kicks, unconscious, bleeding, we don't know a thing more than that," said Wos.
O'Connell was found lying on the street, next door to the bar and in front of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. Although O'Connell was rushed to the hospital, it took three days for his family and also for police to discover what had happened.
Despite an ongoing investigation, detectives continue to search for O'Connell's attacker. There's a sign posted at the bar's storefront, encouraging witnesses to call police.
Unfortunately, there was no surveillance video to capture the beating.
"We'd really like to get the word out and have anybody come forward," said Wos.
The beating comes as a shock to residents who live and work in the tight-knit college neighborhood.
"I don't know who did this or why they wouldn't come forward if they knew. It's so senseless, like, it's somebody's life, it's somebody's son," said Merissa Daskauskas, a resident of Little Italy.
The family of Andrew O'Connell asks any witnesses to please contact police.
