Man gets 23 years for Ottawa school threat

A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Thursday to threatening violence at an Ottawa school and was sentenced to 23 years.

Bruce Sirtoff, 38, appeared Thursday at an unscheduled hearing in La Salle County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to one count of making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years with no possibility of probation.

Remaining counts were dismissed. These included a charge of aggravated battery for allegedly striking a corrections officer in the La Salle County Jail.

Sirtoff is eligible for day-to-day good time. Coupled with six months of credit for time served, his target release date would be in late 2034 or early 2035.

He declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before sentencing.

Sirtoff has been in custody since March 1, when he allegedly told police in Ottawa that he planned to conduct a mass shooting at Shepherd and to detonate a bomb. A search of his residence produced “no items consistent with his threats,” police said, and the alleged threat was uttered at night, when no students would have been present.