Bomb Found at Peoria Ethanol Plant Forces Mile-Wide Evacuation Across the Illinois River as FBI Hunts for Whoever Planted It

Thousands of people in Peoria and East Peoria, Illinois, spent Friday night away from home after authorities confirmed that a suspicious device found at an ethanol plant on the Peoria riverfront was a real bomb. Police ordered everyone who lives or works within one mile of the BioUrja Renewables plant to evacuate, a zone that reaches across the Illinois River into East Peoria.

Peoria Mayor Rita Ali said authorities treated the threat as credible and confirmed the device was a bomb, though she said late Friday that officials did not yet know whether other devices were at the site. The FBI has joined the investigation, and a special agent said the bureau would work to identify the person responsible.

According to 25 News Now, the company first alerted police to the threat at 1:08 p.m. Friday, and the mandatory evacuation order took effect at 7:02 p.m.. Bomb technicians then worked into the night. Police Chief Brad Dixon said the explosive device was rendered safe at about 9:12 p.m., the Peoria Standard reported.

That did not end the emergency. Police told residents the one-mile evacuation would remain in effect well into Saturday because investigators still had to search the entire property for other explosives. The Peoria Standard reported that residents would be notified when the order is lifted. NBC News reported that the evacuation forced local events to cancel as the investigation continued.

Officials opened two shelters for displaced families: Manual Academy high school in Peoria and the EastSide Centre sports complex in East Peoria. ABC News reported that police were urging anyone inside the one-mile radius to leave the area.

Authorities have not said who planted the device, how it got onto the property or what the intended target was, and no arrests have been announced. No injuries have been reported in connection with Friday's device.

BioUrja Renewables operates the former ADM ethanol plant on Peoria's south riverfront, which produces beverage-grade and industrial alcohol. CNN described the facility as part of an industrial area in a city of about 110,000 people. The plant has drawn emergency crews before: in May 2022 a grain bin exploded at the site, collapsing silos and leaving a fire that smoldered for days, Peoria Public Radio reported at the time.

Officials have kept the wide circle in place even after the device itself was made safe, a sign of how seriously they are taking the possibility of a second device on a site that handles flammable fuel alcohol.

Local officials planned further briefings on Saturday as the property search continued. Residents inside the zone will be notified when they can return, police said, and should wait for that word from Peoria and East Peoria officials.

For a river city that will spend this weekend waiting for the all-clear, the hours ahead will be measured by one thing: whether searchers come back empty-handed. Liberty Bell Report will update this story as officials release new details.