On April 23, 2020, a man poured gasoline around the Illinois state government building in Chicago and set it on fire. The man, identified as Lawrence Reed, age 44, was said to be angry because he had not received his monthly government Supplemental Security Income check.

According to the Chicago news site CWB Chicago, Reed went inside the building, known as the Thompson Center, and asked a worker at a train kiosk where his check was. Reed left and came back about an hour later and asked the same thing.

Then, according to CWB Chicago, Reed "allegedly returned a third time at 2:10 p.m. with two red containers. Witnesses reported seeing him walk along the north wall of the Thompson Center while pouring a liquid from the containers. Fire investigators later determined the liquid was gasoline

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