Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - September 10, 2003
Joshua S. Howes, Tribune staff reporter
There was no indication any of the political offices were targeted, and no one was in the building at 5533 N. Broadway at the time of the fire, said Thomas Ahern, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Police said an offender poured gasoline down a drainage pipe near the southeast corner of the roof before setting the blaze.
The fire burned through the roof and caused a portion of the ceiling to collapse into a hallway beside the AIDS group's offices, Ahern said. Flames also engulfed the hallway's walls and carpet and spread to three adjoining offices, authorities said.
"It looked like a bomb had gone off," said Jeffrey Allen, event coordinator for the Test Positive Awareness Network, the Chicago-based AIDS group whose offices sustained most of the damage. "There's so much black soot and water that knocked everything around. It isn't pretty."
Ahern estimated total damage at more than $10,000.
Police had no suspects in custody and no indication of a motive, Ahern said. They did recover a plastic gasoline can from the scene, he said.
The preliminary investigation indicated no connection between Tuesday's arson and a pipe bomb that ripped through state and city political offices in Pilsen in April, said police spokesman Matthew Jackson.
Besides housing the offices of Schakowsky, the building contains the offices of state Sen. Carol Ronen (D-Chicago), state Rep. Harry Osterman (D-Chicago) and Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th).
Officials with Schakowsky's office and the Test Positive Awareness Network said they had experienced no troubling incidents and received no threats in the last several months.
In a statement, Schakowsky, a liberal Democrat serving her third term in Congress, said, "I am relieved that no one was hurt." At this time, she said, "There is no reason to believe that this incident was targeted at anyone in particular."
Authorities said the fire was set around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. It was spotted by a Chicago Transit Authority motorman on a passing elevated train at about 5:40 a.m., said Ahern.
Allen said the building's owner was Mike Giarango. Giarango could not be reached for comment.
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