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Open door likely reason for frozen pipe at Capitol

Posted February 11, 2008 10:00 pm

Doug Finke

An open outside door in a suite of offices occupied by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's staff apparently caused a pipe to freeze and burst Sunday night, flooding areas of the state Capitol.

Officials do not know why the door was open, although some staff members think strong winds might have blown it open. Wind gusts of more than 40 mph were recorded in Springfield overnight Sunday, with temperatures falling into the single digits.

On Tuesday, Henry Haupt, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White, gave this account of what happened:

Between 11:30 p.m. and midnight Sunday, a Capitol security guard was making rounds in the building. He realized it was "really cold" on the north end of the second floor, where there are offices for the governor's staff and others.

However, the guard did not have a key to get into the area. The guard inquired with Illinois State Police officers stationed at the Executive Mansion about getting into the office suite.

"In the meantime," Haupt said, "Capitol security was able to gain access without damaging the door."

Once inside, they saw that doors leading to a balcony over the Capitol's north entrance were open.

"They said it was extremely cold in there," Haupt said.

Officers also discovered some ceiling tiles inside the office had been blown off. Capitol maintenance staff replaced the tiles, and state police officers secured the office. The work was finished about 1 a.m.

At the time, Haupt said, no one noticed any damage to pipes. After completing the repairs, the doors to an adjacent hallway were kept open to bring warm air into the office.

About 2:30 a.m., however, a fire alarm went off, triggered by water leaking out of a sprinkler pipe in the office where the open door was discovered.

Water spread through second-floor offices, down to the mezzanine immediately below, and then into the first floor and the Capitol basement. The water was confined mainly to areas in the northeast quadrant of the Capitol.

Cleanup work continued Tuesday.

"It's going more quickly than we anticipated," said Dave Blanchette, spokesman for the Capital Development Board.

Most of area has been dried out, he said. The next step will be cleaning carpets.

Workers must still replace pipe insulation and ceiling tiles damaged by the water.

The work will not be finished in time for today's return of the General Assembly.

Some Democratic senators with offices on the first floor and mezzanine will be moved to staff offices and conference rooms for the two days they are scheduled to be in Springfield this week, said Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate Democrats.

"I think the disruption will be minimal," she said.

The north entrance to the Capitol will remain closed at least part of today. Officials want to ensure plaster ceilings at the north entrance were not damaged by the water.

Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527.

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