VIENNA, Ill. (WSIL) -- A member of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) responded to WSIL's request for information in regards to an incident which took place at the Shawnee Correctional Center on September 20.
An IDOC public information officer stated on the evening of September 20, five members were in the control room of Building R1 at the Shawnee Correctional Center when they experienced medical symptoms while they were sorting mail.
All five of these staff members were then taken to a hospital for further evaluation, IDOC stated.
Roughly one hour later, in Building R4, IDOC personnel reported another staff member was sorting mail when they also started experiencing symptoms. This staff member was also taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
The Marion Fire Rescue Hazardous Material Team responded to the correctional facility and tested items and clothing of the staff members who were affected.
After testing the items and clothing, results came back negative for any presence of drugs or narcotics, IDOC stated.
All staff members who were impacted were treated at the hospital and released.
IDOC also stated searches were conducted and the Shawnee Correctional Center's Investigations and Intelligence Unit found suspicious mail, however, preliminary tests yielded no positive results.
The items were then sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for further testing.
IDOC states the investigation is ongoing.
