Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune (CT) - THURSDAY April 14, 1988 Edition: SPORTS FINAL Section: CHICAGOLAND Page: 3 Word Count: 378
Jean Davidson
Tom Schafer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the perpetrator could face prosecution for forgery under state law or for mail fraud under federal law.
Schafer said the Public Health Department does not send letters informing people of possible exposure to acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
"If anyone else gets a letter like this, we want them to know it is a hoax because that is not how we do business," Schafer said. "If there was a reason to suspect exposure, they would be visited personally."
Schafer said the man and woman who received the letters last week apparently knew each other, but Schafer would not say if they had common friends or coworkers.
He said both recipients contacted the Peoria office of the Public Health Department on April 7.
"Everything indicates it was a practical joke," Schafer said. "Both individuals who received the letter did not take it as a joking matter and were very upset."
Schafer said Bernard Turnock, director of the Public Health Department, "was outraged that someone would do this, to play on the fears of people involving a disease with no cure."
The perpetrator apparently had a letter from the Environmental Division of the Public Health Department, probably regarding air or water quality, said Schafer, and used a photocopying machine to copy the letterhead while blanking out the text. The perpetrator then typed in official-sounding sentences and pretend statute numbers, but used poor grammar and made misspellings. "The whole thing is bogus," Schafer said.
The hoax is based on fairly common knowledge that the state legislature passed laws last year ordering the Public Health Department to trace the contacts of people who have tested positive for exposure to HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.
Laws passed last year also require that all such positive test results be reported to the Public Health Department.
As of Jan. 1, people applying for marriage licenses in Illinois have had to take a blood test to determine whether they have been exposed to the AIDS virus.
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