A hazardous materials investigation closed the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in the Loop for about two hours Monday morning, forcing employees into the lobbies of nearby buildings and clogging coffee shops while authorities looked into it.
The “all clear” was given around 10 a.m., when workers, lawyers and visitors began cramming back into the building’s lobby. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the whole thing may have been a false alarm.
It all began when an air duct alarm went off about 7:50 a.m. at the building at 219 S. Dearborn, U.S. Marshals spokeswoman Belkis Sandoval told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Emergency crews arrived and shut down nearby streets while steering people
toward the Kluczynski building and post office across the street. People inside
Dirksen were told to shelter in place and the air circulation system was shut off.
Though the building’s alarms indicated a hazardous substance in the air, Langford said firefighters’ equipment showed normal air quality readings inside the building, its basement and in the nearby subway.
At one point, as authorities began to move people from the crowded Kluczynski
lobby to the post office, they were told, “you’re not in danger.” Traffic continued to pass by the Dirksen building, and people were allowed to mill about Federal Plaza.
