Boarded up windows at Illinois capitol coming down; cost taxpayers $30,000
(The Center Square) – Officials are relaxing security at the Illinois State Capitol.
The plywood over the windows, which cost taxpayers $30,000, was starting to come down Thursday. That’s after nearly a week of a heightened security presence based on a threat that never materialized.
Last week, images of construction crews putting plywood over the windows of the Illinois State Capitol were mixed with images of armed Illinois National Guard soldiers blocking streets and creating a perimeter around the complex.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday ordered 250 soldiers from the Illinois National Guard to support security at the capitol and other state government buildings in Springfield. The move was in response to a threat the FBI said involved possible armed protests at the state capitals of every state leading up to the inauguration of President Joe Biden Wednesday.
Such protests never materialized in Illinois.
Plywood was applied to the windows on Saturday.
Andrea Aggertt, The Architect of the Capitol, on Thursday said the plywood on the windows at the state capitol is starting to come down with a goal of having it all removed by Monday morning.
The overall cost of installing and removing the plywood over windows of the Illinois State Capitol Complex cost taxpayers about $30,000, Aggertt said. She didn’t hear of any reports of any vandalism to the property over the duration of the past week.
Aggertt said the Office of the Architect at the Capitol is utilizing Secretary of State crews for the installation and removal of the plywood rather than a third-party vendor.
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office said Thursday morning that the “Capitol Complex is reopened.”
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