US: Bomb at Illinois Ethanol Plant Forces Evacuation

By Staff, Agencies 

The New York Times reported that the discovery of a bomb at an Illinois ethanol plant forced residents and businesses on both banks of the Illinois River to evacuate Friday night, disrupting traffic and public events in Peoria and neighboring East Peoria.

Peoria Mayor Rita Ali identified the facility as the BioUrja ethanol plant and said authorities established an evacuation zone extending one mile around it. The affected area encompassed residential neighborhoods and commercial districts, though the number of people displaced was not immediately known.

According to the report, the evacuation order was still in force early Saturday.

Local emergency crews were joined by state and federal authorities at the riverfront industrial site. Personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attended the scene, while Illinois state troopers restricted traffic nearby.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Representative Darin LaHood said on social media that they were following developments and called on residents to comply with evacuation instructions.

Ali said those needing shelter in Peoria could use the basement of a local high school. She urged people with homes or workplaces near the plant to remain outside the affected area.

Authorities initially described the incident as a bomb threat. Ali subsequently told local reporters that emergency workers found a bomb, while acknowledging uncertainty over whether the danger had been fully addressed.

"We don't know whether there's one device or whether there's multiple devices," she said, adding, "This is a real crisis situation right now."

The mayor also said "there may have been deactivation of that device" but stressed that she could not confirm this.

Her comments came after hours of emergency operations that brought activity in sections of both cities to a halt.