The Illinois Capitol is on lockdown Thursday as emergency crews investigate a hazardous materials situation after a woman allegedly threw a powdery substance in the governor's office.
A live video stream showed three people in hazmat suits and a Capitol police officer enter the reception area of the second floor governor's office around 2:25 p.m. They moved a couch and knelt behind it, a bucket and plastic bags nearby. About 15 minutes later, they stood up, grabbed the plastic bags and bucket they had used, and left the office.
Before and after the crew entered, a couple of staffers could be seen sitting in the reception area. Springfield Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs told Gatehouse Media on Thursday a woman allegedly threw a powdery substance in the governor's office.
The situation delayed Thursday's crucial session in the Illinois House, where lawmakers were scheduled to take a vote on overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of an income tax increase and state budget amid a historic impasse.
A few minutes before the 1:30 p.m. scheduled start time, two security guards walked a woman with her arms handcuffed behind her back through a hallway in back of the House chamber. Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, which oversees Capitol security, said one person was taken into custody Thursday.
At 2:09 p.m., an announcement was made through a Capitol loudspeaker that a "total lockdown" was in effect and that people inside should "shelter yourself." Lawmakers and staff walked around the House floor as they normally would during session.
About 40 minutes earlier, a House official announced there would be a delay as the chamber waits for more lawmakers to be allowed into the building.
The governor's office referred questions to the Illinois secretary of state police that serve the Capitol. They could not be reached for comment.
The governor was not in the building at the time of the lockdown, a source said. Rauner was on his way back from the funeral of Illinois State Police Trooper Ryan Albin, who died late last month following a Downstate highway crash involving a tractor-trailer near a construction zone. Services were held in Farmer City, which is off Interstate 74 between Champaign and Bloomington.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza is one of the officials not being allowed inside the Capitol. She said she approached a security guard at the door, identified herself and asked if she could come in. "He said he would like to allow me in but could not because of a hazmat situation," Mendoza told the Chicago Tribune.
The unfolding security situation followed a sometimes fierce backlash against the Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in voting for the tax hike. Outside groups have blanketed social media with political attacks, and some Facebook commenters used violent language to react. Some lawmakers have had their personal phone numbers posted online, resulting in hundreds of angry calls from those opposed to the tax increase.
An anti-tax increase message was posted Thursday from the Twitter account of freshman Republican Rep. Allen Skillicorn of East Dundee: "What is the bigger threat to #IL? The suspicious white powder at the Capitol or Madigan's #taxhikes and #JunkBudget?"
That prompted a Twitter response from Democratic Rep. Christian Mitchell of Chicago: "Really, Allen?"
Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, whose district includes Springfield, said Wednesday that while much focus has been put on the tax portion of the package, the spending side included real cuts and across-the-board reductions that Republicans have long pushed for. She said she plans to vote for the override.
"I will never be able to convince anybody to say to me, 'Wow, Sara, you've really convinced me. I am happy to give the state more money,'" Wojcicki Jimenez said Wednesday. "Happy will never be the emotion. I hope that the emotion becomes, the more you talk about it is understanding of what the math is and what the dynamics of the legislature is."
The delay came as the House was scheduled to take up an override vote of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a tax increase and budget.
There are 118 lawmakers in the House, but only half showed up Wednesday.
Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan needs 71 votes to override the governor. The tax hike was approved with 72 votes, so the absence of even a few lawmakers who previously voted for the plan could upend an override attempt. At least one of the 15 House Republicans who voted for the tax hike was not expected to be at the Capitol on Thursday.
In recent days, low attendance in the House has made it impossible for lawmakers to complete any business at all. If an override vote fails, the governor will have blocked an income tax hike for now, and the state's budget impasse will continue.
The budget plan would spend more than $36 billion on primary and secondary education, colleges and universities, social services, medical care for the poor and other government functions, with nearly $5 billion in new taxes to help pay for it. The personal income tax rate would rise from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. The corporate tax rate would go from 5.25 percent to 7 percent. The plan also would have the state pay down about half of the nearly $15 billion pile of unpaid bills through a combination of borrowing and using cash from other state accounts.
On Wednesday, Rauner said his team was "doing everything that we can do to push to ensure my veto is not overridden," though he didn't say what specifically he was doing in the day before a potential vote.
The governor also compared the income tax increase to a "two-by-four smacked across the forehead."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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