Update 1:55 AM — Our fully updated report is available here.
Update 11:14 PM — CPD has released the following statement: “During a death investigation in an apartment building in the 200 block of East Illinois Street late this afternoon, Chicago Police Department officers discovered hazardous materials. Two floors of the building were evacuated. CPD brought in special containers so the material could be transported and disposed of safely. Officers have cleared the scene and are in the process of disposing of the hazardous materials.”
Update 11 PM — Residents are being allowed back into the building except for the 7th floor.
Update 10:50 PM — CPD’s bomb squad has transported materials to a location near the Soldier Field where the items will be neutralized.
Update 8:59 PM — WGN-TV investigative producer Sam Charles reports that police found two pipe bombs in the apartment.
Update 8:30 PM — Police went to the 7th-floor apartment to follow up on the death of 30-year-old Theodore Hilk. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Hilk was pronounced dead at 4 a.m. Wednesday. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
Update 8:05 PM — Authorities reportedly found laboratory equipment, chemicals, and suspicious items in the apartment kitchen. Some of those are being transported to a safe location for a controlled detonation, according to multiple sources.
Chicago police and fire personnel are on the scene of a possible hazardous materials incident inside a Streeterville apartment tonight.
Large numbers of first responders began arriving on the scene at 240 East Illinois around 6:20 p.m. after a person was reportedly found dead with unusual circumstances. A source said there appears to be some sort of clandestine laboratory in the apartment where the deceased person lived.
CPD confirmed that its SWAT team, bomb unit, and the FBI are on the scene.
Right by my place pic.twitter.com/pdggEKsnOX
— Jay (@yaiyson) March 25, 2021
Police are diverting all people, including residents of the affected building away from the area. Illinois Street is closed between Michigan Avenue to City Front Drive, according to a CPD spokesperson.
CWBChicago will post updates as more information becomes available.