Investigators examine letter sent to Illinois lawmaker's office in Aurora after staffer gets sick
AURORA, Ill. (CBS) -- Investigators on Tuesday were still looking into a suspicious substance they say was found on a letter addressed to an Illinois state representative in Aurora the day before.
Aurora police said at 1:06 p.m. Monday, 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. CBS News Chicago talked to that employee Tuesday.
The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said they noticed something was wrong after they were opening up letters they say were sent by prison inmates. The employee had to rush to the bathroom upon not feeling well.
On Tuesday, the employee was doing OK as the investigation continued. The City of Aurora told CBS News Chicago it was not known whether the mail was actually a factor in the employee's condition.
Meanwhile, the district office for Rep. Hernandez remained closed Tuesday.
The day before, the building where the office is located swarmed with law enforcement and first responders.
Investigators have now seized the piece of mail the employee opened before getting sick, and are holding it for evidence.
Illinois State Police normally provide state representatives with security when necessary. It was not clear late Tuesday whether there had been any tightening as a result of the incident the day before.
The United States Postal Inspection Service was heading the investigation as of Tuesday. CBS News Chicago asked former Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio—now director of public safety at Monterrey Security—what investigators might be looking for to track down who sent the letter.
"The envelope itself can contain a lot of evidence that can help police. There's DNA on the envelope, for example. If a person licked the back of the envelope, there can be DNA on the seal of the envelope," Riccio said, "so there's a lot of places on that letter, on the envelope, where officers can receive—can get information and determine kind of the source of the letter."
Safety experts said police may also be looking into where the letter was postmarked.
"This happened, and happens, with a level of frequency that our first responders, our investigators, our law enforcement are prepared for this, are trained for this, and have specific protocols," said former FBI investigator Phil Andrew. "Any letter that looks unusual, or is coming from an unusual place, would be reviewed and then quarantined."
Andrew explained how U.S. Postal inspectors are likely analyzing the letter, along with the contents of the letter. He said the return address may not be reliable and could be fraudulent.
"The investigators are going to recover the letter. They're going to analyze the substance. They're going to look at the postmark," Andrew said, "and then they'll be moving backwards toward who had access, who has been sending things in the past, are there other threats that have been made?"
CBS News Chicago spoke briefly to Rep. Hernandez, who said she was still waiting Tuesday to learn the results of whatever was in the envelope.
