An undetermined foreign substance sickened inmates, then staff, at the Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro, Illinois, Wednesday. Eighteen prison employees were hospitalized.
After the 911 call went out at around 2:38 p.m. local time, nearby Hillsboro Area Hospital received eight patients from the facility, while HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois, took in nine patients, according to KTVI-TV, a St. Louis Fox affiliate.
“All staff members who may have potentially encountered the unknown substance were also sent to a local hospital as a precaution. All staff are stable currently and many have already been discharged,” Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Naomi Puzzello told the Associated Press.