CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Police in Chicago and multiple nearby suburbs on Tuesday responded to a wave of bomb threats at public libraries, including at Harold Washington Library in the Loop.
At about 2:40 p.m., the Aurora Police Department announced that officers were on the scene at the Aurora Public Library's Santori Branch location in response to a bomb threat. A little over 30 minutes later, police said all three of the city's libraries would be closed due to the threat.
Shortly after 3 p.m., Addison Trail High School that a bomb threat at the Addison Public Library prompted police to close both the library while the DuPage County bomb squad searched the building.
Chicago police responded to Harold Washington Library at about 3:30 p.m. after a library employee received an anonymous email stating that there was a bomb on the premises. CPD said the bomb squad and K9 units conducted sweeps of building and found no bound. The library was not evacuated.
About 40 minutes later, the Evanston Police Department responded to the Evanston Public Library on Orrington Avenue for a report of a bomb threat. The building was evacuated while the Cook County Sheriff's Bomb Squad searched the building. The Robert Crown Community Center and Branch Library was also evacuated and closed.
At 5:07 p.m., the Village of Schaumburg announced that police were investigating a bomb threat at the Schaumburg Township District Library. Officials said the threat was received in an online chat. The library was evacuated.
Two weeks ago, a similar wave of fake threats forced a number of other suburban libraries to close.
The American Library Association has reported an increase in threats targeting public libraries during 2023, in what advocates said is designed to limit access to books on gender identity and race.
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