"It was a shock to me,” said Toni Zaninovich, who was inside before the building was it was sealed. I’m shaken up,” said Lamont Claybrooks, another county employee.

The call came from a "mentally unstable" man who used a phone booth on 87th Street, authorities reported. No explosives and the building was reopened shortly before 9am.

Lines coiled out the door as workers, attorneys and those with government business filed inside. Many entering the building were apprehensive, but at least one visitor found a silver lining: "So, I won’t be considered late for court today?”

Shakenya Jackson is a Chicago writer. She enjoys long walks in the park and dirty dishes.