Illinois State Board of Elections receives 'suspicious' package

CHICAGO - A growing number of election offices across the nation have been targeted with suspicious packages as early voting begins in several states.

Illinois is now on that list.

The Illinois State Board of Elections confirmed they received a suspicious letter on Friday.

"We are very vigilant; we have been for some time now. We will continue to be vigilant. This isn’t something voters should be worried about," said Matt Dietrich of the IL State Board of Elections.

The letter had a return address from an entity calling itself USTEA, the U.S. Traitor Elimination Army.

Suspicious letters were also sent to 20 other state election boards.

Officials said that upon receiving the package, it was immediately turned over to police and fire authorities, who later determined it was not harmful.

Despite this, authorities say there is an increased sense of awareness during the campaign season.

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating.