Students were told not to show up for class because of the "unspecified threat," Chicago Police Department News Affair Officer Michael Sullivan said.
Late Monday, DeVry spokesman Ernie Gibble released a statement: "On Sunday, February 9, two leaders of the Chamberlain campus in Addison, Illinois, received an email threat suggesting there would be several "explosions" set off at unspecified locations throughout the day on Monday, February 10th. As the safety and security of our students and colleagues is our top priority, we made the decision, after consulting with local law enforcement officials, to close all Chicago area locations on February 10 as a precautionary measure.
Since then, a number of proactive steps have been taken to address this situation. The authorities began an immediate investigation to identify the responsible person(s). Each of our Chicago area campus locations were inspected and/or swept with explosive detection canine teams for anything suspicious or potentially harmful. Nothing of an unusual nature was found at any of our locations. Taking all this into account, and consistent with the guidance we have received from local law enforcement authorities, we have decided it is safe to re-open our Chicago area DeVry University and Chamberlain College of Nursing locations tomorrow – Tuesday, February 11."
Earlier Monday, DeVry President David Pauldine said the university received an email on Sunday.
"The contents of the email gave rise to our decision to close our Chicago area campuses," Pauldine said. "We reached that decision in close consultation with law enforcement officials who have experience in dealing with matters like this."
Officials now are tracing the IP address of the computer that transmitted the email, which had an address and name.
Chicago police are patrolling the campus.
"About a week ago, they had us watch a video in regards of what to do if there's a shooter or some threat on campus," Peter Culbert, student, said.
