Officials know what it’s not, not what it is

The white powder that arrived in a letter to the appellate court building in Elgin Monday tested negative for any harmful agents, according to the FBI, but the substance is still being tested to deduce its composition, officials said Tuesday.

The 2nd District Appellate Court building, at 55 Symphony Way, will remain closed until Thursday night as a precautionary measure.

Though FBI spokesman Ross Rice said the letter writer claimed the substance was anthrax, but that possibility was officially ruled out on Monday. The powder is being tested further in a laboratory at the Illinois Department of Public Health, Rice said.

Police were called at 11:20 a.m. Monday after a clerk opened a letter and saw the white powder.

Elgin Police Department spokeswoman Sue Olafson confirmed the letter came from a correctional facility in Southern Illinois but said she was unable to release the name of the sender or the specific facility.

Twenty-eight people were sent to local hospitals Monday after being decontaminated outside the court building.

Olafson said the decontamination process included a series of pools in which people exposed to the substance are scrubbed to remove any contamination.

Ten of those people affected went to Provena St. Joseph Hospital where spokeswoman Heather Gates said they were decontaminated again and sequestered in a room for six hours of observation.

Gates said no one showed any symptoms, including Jennifer Gonzalez, who opened the letter.

Rice said officials are not ready to file any charges before concluding the investigation but there are potential violations of state and federal laws by the sender.