Illinois lawmaker’s aide gets sick after opening mail, Aurora office building evacuated

By Jermont Terry

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    AURORA, Illinois (WBBM) — One person was rushed to the hospital Monday afternoon after opening mail in an Illinois state representative’s office in Aurora.

People were also evacuated from the building that houses the office as a precaution.

Aurora police said at 1:06 p.m., they were called along with the fire department to the office of Illinois state Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) in the busy three-level office building at 1 E. Benton St. in downtown Aurora.

An employee had reported feeling sick shortly after opening the mail.

Emergency crews were not sure whether the mail actually made Rep. Hernandez’s staffer sick, or if it was something else. Nevertheless, many people were shaken.

“Police banging on everyone’s doors, saying, ‘We have to evacuate the building,'” said Danny Souri. “It was like a scene out of movie. It was pretty intense.”

Souri works in a different office space at 1 E. Benton St. But he said the urgency from emergency crews made it clear it was not a drill.

“We were told not to leave—can’t go back into the building,” he said.

Meanwhile, the employee from Hernandez’s office who got sick after opening the letter was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

“Another person I know was injured from it as well,” Souri said. “They went on their own.”

After clearing the building, investigators quickly worked to determine what the threat, if any, was from the letter.

“The landlord had to turn off all the HVAC in the building so there was no airflow anywhere so it doesn’t spread, and that’s how they made us aware of what it was,” said Souri.

Exactly what caused the scare remained unknown late Monday. Rep. Hernandez issued this statement:

“I want to thank all first responders for their hard work and support during today’s incident. It’s true my office received a letter, as we usually do. One of my team members opened the letter, causing them to feel ill after. Due to this we made the call to ask for assistance from APD where we then made sure everyone evacuated the building. My team member who came in contact with the letter is in good spirits as they wait for testing results.

“It is unfortunate we live in this type of environment where we have to worry about these incidents. However, I’m very proud and grateful for my team and the first responders for the quick action. I’m sorry to everyone who may have caused an inconvenience to the traffic. I’ve seen some social media posts and I ask please don’t misinform others. Our office will be closed tomorrow to give my team time to recover.”

Late Monday night, the employee was stable and awaiting test results.

Police have not said if they have any leads. But the whole building will remain closed Monday as a precaution.

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