NEWS FLASH
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Three weeks before Election Day, Chicago just became part of a national scare.
The Illinois State Board of Elections’ Chicago office received what officials called a “suspicious envelope” Thursday evening, spokesman Matt Dietrich said. “We evacuated the office and notified law enforcement immediately,” Dietrich said. “The FBI now has the envelope and our office will be open as usual tomorrow.”
Hours earlier, a second scare unfolded downtown. A suspicious envelope with white powder was delivered to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office at 118 N. Clark St. Thursday morning. The substance turned out to be baking powder. A mailroom employee found and opened the envelope, then quickly sealed it inside a plastic bag and brought it upstairs. Firefighters and police responded to a level I hazardous materials alarm at 10:25 a.m. and had the situation resolved within 45 minutes. No injuries were reported.
“It’s frightening,” Pappas said. “The whole place went on red alert.” The FBI’s Chicago field office confirmed it responded to an incident “in the City Hall vicinity” Thursday.
Both envelopes are part of a sweeping federal probe. The FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Capitol Police are investigating a wave of letters — more than 100 by some estimates — sent to congressional offices, secretaries of state and election offices across the country. Some of the letters contained an unknown substance; the Associated Press reports that some carried threats and traces of fentanyl, prompting some election offices to stock the overdose reversal drug naloxone. Election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma were evacuated this week; postal inspectors intercepted a white-powder package bound for the Ohio secretary of state’s office.
Law enforcement is working to intercept more letters, but a notice from the Senate Sergeant at Arms warns “it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.”
The timing is hard to miss. Early voting in Illinois began September 24. A classified federal threat briefing for election officials — scheduled for the same week — was postponed Thursday after technical difficulties.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as the FBI hunts whoever is behind the mail.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
