Two Illinois Congress members receive second suspicious packages amid nationwide threats

Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Mike Quigley, both Democrats from Illinois, confirmed that each of their offices received a second suspicious envelope this Wednesday, part of a broader wave of threatening mail sent to election-related offices nationwide. The letters prompted immediate involvement of Skokie police, Chicago police, the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI, with hazardous-materials teams also dispatched. Schakowsky, who is set to retire in January, noted her Skokie office first received a similar package on Oct. 16 and said her staff identified and secured it without opening.

Quigley called the latest delivery an effort to scare elected officials and urged bipartisan condemnation of political violence. He and other Illinois representatives—including Brad Schneider and Robin Kelly—had reported similar mail last week, and members such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Robert Garcia have also been targeted. State election officials, including the Illinois State Board of Elections, have evacuated offices after receiving suspicious letters, some of which contained fentanyl traces, prompting some locations to stock naloxone.