Chicago police fielded a rash of bogus bomb threats Wednesday, and the City Council heard a call for tighter airport security.
Several apparent threats targeted buildings along North Michigan Avenue and in the Streeterville area, and police said a warrant had been issued for the arrest of one suspect wanted for faxing threats, a previously suspended Cook County corrections officer.
At the Criminal Courts Building, police responded to a threat of a bomb hidden at an outside wall near the jail. They found only weeds.
Security at Traffic Court, 321 N. LaSalle St., was heightened after a phone repair kit was mistaken for a bomb Wednesday morning. The building also is headquarters to the Democratic National Convention Committee and Chicago ’96, the civic host committee for the convention.
At a Wednesday DNC staff meeting, volunteers were reminded not to accept unmarked packages and to check ID badges.
One volunteer said the message she took away from the meeting was: If you see a suspicious package, “call security and run like hell.”
Traffic Court Supervising Judge Patrick E. McGann said security in the building has been beefed up since the DNC moved in, including the stationing of sheriff’s deputies around the clock.
Ald. Robert Shaw (9th) called for “immediate” hearings to discuss ways to tighten security at O’Hare International and Midway Airports. He said forcing airlines to check the backgrounds of their employees would be a good place to start.
“Right now, the only background checks we do on airport employees is drug testing,” he said.”We should be concerned about bomb throwers as well.”
Fears of bombs weren’t confined to the city.
In Geneva, westbound Metra train 21 unloaded its passengers after the crew spotted an unclaimed package and summoned police. It turned out to be a large cooler, but not before the Kane County sheriff’s bomb squad showed up and X-rayed the package, forcing a two-hour delay.
Geneva police Lt. Joseph Frega said conductors saw a man carry the cooler onto the train and put it in an overhead luggage rack before leaving the train in Wheaton.