Bruce Rauner: Terror Attack In Illinois 'Just A Matter Of Time'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that an attack by terrorists in the state is "just a matter of time."
Rauner made his remarks a few hours after the rampage outside Parliament in London, which killed four and injured nearly two dozen. British authorities believe that attack was an act of terrorism.
"My view? It's just a matter of time," Rauner said at a meeting of the Illinois Terror Task Force in Springfield. "There's a lot of bad people around. And we've got to be ready. And that's what you guys do, and I want to say, thank you."
Chicago has long been a target of terrorists since President Obama was first elected — first by Al Qaeda, and then ISIS.
Past plots involving Chicago include the aborted attack on the Willis Tower; the explosive copier cartridges destined for Chicago but intercepted in Yemen; and the underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who flew to Detroit on Christmas 2009, because airfares to Chicago were too high.
In 2015, an online threat from Islamic State claimed that the terror group has "soldiers" standing at the ready in Illinois.
The August, 2014, a post on Twitter, purportedly from somebody connected with Islamic State, showed a photo of the Old Republic Building, 307 N. Michigan Ave., in Chicago and the White House.
The text reads:
#AmessagefromISIStoUS
We are in your state
We are in your cities
We are in your streets
