All Clear After Suspicious Item Again Disrupts Mag Mile

Police said the object was some cloth wrapped around rebar and a spring

Chicago police closed North Michigan Avenue between Wacker Drive and Ohio Street for nearly two hours Tuesday morning after a suspicious object was found taped to a flag pole.

Bomb and arson units were called to the 400 block of Michigan Avenue just after 10 a.m., police said. The object was found in the plaza between the Wrigley Building and the building at 430 N. Michigan Ave.

Police said the object was some cloth wrapped around rebar and a spring. The word "Israel" was scrawled on the pole in cheese, and there was a flag of the nation Suriname flying from it.

A remote-controlled robot was seen retrieving the object and NBC 5 video showed a bomb technician kneeling over the item, dismantling it on the sidewalk.

Squad cars blocked Michigan Avenue in both directions and police tape blocked off the plaza between Walgreens and the Wrigley Building. Police began reopening the busy street just after noon.

This is the second time in as many days that part of the Mag Mile was shut down for a suspicious item.

On Monday, the Michigan Avenue Bridge was closed to pedestrians and Chicago River closed to boats after a suspicious-looking bottle was found near the bridge. It was determined the bottle contained drain cleaner.

An all-clear was given Monday about an hour after the bridge and river shut down.

The incidents come just two weeks after the bombings of the Boston Marathon. Those attacks, statistics show, have Chicagoans being more vigilant. In the 30 days prior to the Boston Marathon, Chicago police say they investigated 49 reports of suspicious packages. In nine days after, that number skyrocketed to 153.

Contact Us