Afternoon News Update: Wednesday October 22
- Doctors say an Ebola scare in Chicago was a "false alarm" and a great test for the city's new infectious disease network. Two air travelers from Liberia were moved to hospitals for monitoring last night. Officials say neither person, one adult and one child had a fever. And they reported no risk of exposure to the deadly virus.
- Some Rockford residents are expected to take to the streets tonight for a demonstration against police brutality. This is in response to the violent events in Ferguson, Missouri. The Rockford Anti-Racism Network and the Unitarian Universalist Church are holding a rally at 5:30pm in downtown. Organizers say they're calling for an end to "unnecessarily aggressive police tactics, mass incarceration, and racism."
- Rockton teachers plan to picket outside Rockton Grade School and Whitman Post Elementary during a school board meeting. Teachers have several issues with the district, including salaries and class sizes. School officials say that the district will be in facing devastating budget cuts in the next seven years if teacher’s salaries continue to rise 4% every year.
- Rockford Memorial Hospital has been named a top 100 hospital in the United States for spinal surgery. This is the 9th year in a row that the hospital has received a five star rating.
- A judge has ordered a hiring monitor at the Illinois Department of Transportation. He issued the decision Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging the agency has violated rules banning political hiring. Governor Pat Quinn's administration says the state inspector general has investigated IDOT and a separate monitor isn't needed.
- Vice President Joe Biden is the Chicago area today to campaign for candidates in Illinois. He is supporting Congressman Brad Schneider at an event in Vernon Hills. It has also been announced he will be in Rockford next Monday at a rally.
- Two air travelers from Liberia are being monitored at hospitals in Chicago. An adult and a child got sick on separate flights into O'Hare Airport Tuesday. Officials say neither person meets the federal criteria for Ebola testing. A doctor with the city's new infectious disease network says the response shows Chicago is ready to deal with the deadly virus.
- Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Republican state Senator Jim Oberweis are set to meet for the first debate in the U.S. Senate race. The candidates are scheduled to face off tonight. Oberweis says Durbin has lost touch with Illinois voters since he first went to Washington. Durbin says he's reaped billions of dollars in federal funds and other valuable benefits for Illinois.
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