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File footage from the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (WTTW News via CNN)
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Global health organizations are racing to stem an Ebola outbreak in central Africa that has already led to more than 100 suspected deaths, with the exact numbers of infections still unknown.
“This is an outbreak that is still rapidly evolving,” said Dr. Michael Lin, an infectious disease specialist at Rush University. “The numbers are still very difficult to nail down.”
Local health ministries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo identified the outbreak on May 15, and it was only two days later that the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Uncertainty still surrounds the outbreak, including how best to treat this specific strain of the virus. And while the immediate threat is still far away from Chicago, local specialists are working to ensure the city is prepared for all possibilities.
Many past Ebola outbreaks have taken root in rural areas, where risk of intercontinental spread remained low. That changed in 2014, when an outbreak hit west Africa, including some population centers that are well-connected to the rest of the world through busy airports.
How Chicago responded:
Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel convened public health leaders, doctors, first responders and more, and the Chicago Ebola Response Network was born. And while Chicago has never confirmed any cases of Ebola, building that public health infrastructure has still paid dividends.
“Since that time, (the response network) evolved beyond Ebola and helped us address outbreaks related to mpox, COVID-19, measles and other serious pathogens,” said Dr. Larry Kociolek, an infectious disease specialist and vice president of system preparedness, prevention and response at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
In 2025, the Illinois Department of Public Health officially named Rush University and Lurie Children’s Hospital as Elite Special Pathogen Treatment Centers that could take in patients with suspected Ebola cases.
Typically, O’Hare Airport would set up enhanced health screenings for travelers passing through affected countries — in this case, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.
However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that all flights from those three countries would be routed through Washington-Dulles International Airport, where screening resources are being focused.
But in the event a suspected case still makes its way to Chicago, there’s a plan in place, flowing from local and state departments of health down to the hospitals.
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Former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, left, is seen along with a crowd around a vehicle on Sept. 26, 2025, outside the Broadview ICE facility. (Credit: Kat Abughazaleh)
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Federal prosecutors have abruptly dismissed all charges against the remaining “Broadview Six” defendants, a stunning turn just days before the case was set to go to trial. The move followed a closed-door hearing Thursday morning over redacted grand jury transcripts.
Andrew Boutros, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, appeared in U.S. District Judge April Perry’s courtroom Thursday afternoon to announce his office had dropped all charges in the politically charged case.
Earlier Thursday, Perry pulled the trial, which was set to begin Tuesday, from her docket after she conferred with defense attorneys and federal prosecutors in a sealed courtroom.
The transcripts allegedly revealed that an initial grand jury refused to indict the defendants, and the case was later presented again after prosecutors kicked out certain grand jury members who disagreed with the case, according to defense attorneys.
Bourtros made the stunning dismissal announcement as he denied any knowledge of wrongdoing by his prosecutors before the grand jury, including what he referred to as “vouching” for the strength of the case and ex parte communications between one prosecutor and a member of the grand jury outside the courtroom.
More context:
Prosecutors had already dropped all charges against two of the initial six defendants, and later dropped the top conspiracy count against the other four — former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, Oak Park Village Board Trustee Brian Straw and Andre Martin — who were set for trial.
The grand jury transcripts have not yet been released, but Perry did agree to unseal the transcript of her Thursday morning hearing where those transcripts were discussed.
Boutros said he learned Perry was “understandably quite upset” after reviewing the unredacted transcripts and ordering Thursday morning’s hearing, and added that he “sincerely believed” that none of his prosecutors “acted intentionally to mislead you.”
But defense attorney Christopher Parente noted that, while Perry believed she had seen nearly the entirety of the transcript, it was revealed in court Thursday there were missing pages withheld from what was initially given to the judge.
“I don’t understand how that’s not misleading the court,” said Parente, who represents Straw.
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Federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection walk along West Wacker Drive in the Loop, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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A Cook County judge has rejected calls for a special prosecutor to probe allegations of criminal misconduct committed by federal immigration agents after Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke refused to launch her own investigations.
Judge Erica Reddick’s ruling Thursday came after more than 400 attorneys, clergy members, elected officials and community organizers accused O’Neill Burke of abandoning her official duties in refusing to investigate widespread allegations of crimes committed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in and around Chicago.
But Reddick found that it is law enforcement agencies, not the prosecutor’s office, that are tasked with launching such investigations. She ruled that even if she agreed to appoint a special prosecutor, that person would be bound by the same restrictions as O’Neill Burke.
“It cannot be shown the state’s attorney, at least at this point, has abandoned her duty,” Reddick said. “The court finds that the required showing has not been made.”
Reddick further found that the petitioners failed to establish that O’Neill Burke has any conflict of interest preventing her from carrying out her duties as state’s attorney.
O’Neill Burke on Thursday reiterated that the petition was “meritless” and that her office will review all cases brought to it by local law enforcement.
“What the ruling today says is that the State’s Attorney’s Office has not abdicated our duty, that the facts that gave rise to this petition are not based on the law,” O’Neill Burke said.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: May 22, 1990 – Andre Dawson Sets Record With Five Intentional Walks in Cubs’ 16-Inning Win
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In baseball, an intentional walk is when a pitcher purposefully walks an opposing batter, allowing them to reach first base. It’s a defensive strategy deployed to increase matchup odds from pitcher to batter (usually, the opposing team’s best hitter will be intentionally walked) or boost the odds of a double play. On this day 36 years ago, the Cubs’ Andre Dawson (or rather, the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff) set a record for most intentional walks for one player in a single game with five. The Cubs won the 16-inning pitchers’ duel 2-1. Due to the length of the game, Harry Caray sang the seventh-inning stretch twice and Dawson’s record has yet to be broken.
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What's your favorite sandwich shop in the city? Tell us what to order.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to
say:
“King Italian from Tony’s Deli in Edison Park” — Bob S.
“Hands down, my favorite sandwich shop is JT’s Genuine Sandwiches here in the Irving Park neighborhood. Chris Cunningham has a great selection at his shop, but my personal favorite is the Pork and Greens (thinly sliced pork loin, cheese and rapini). It’s been my go-to since he opened more than six years ago.” — John Mark S.
“Cafe 53: Excellent sandwiches, excellent vegan options, excellent patio.” — Steven L.
“J.P. Graziano's: A Mr. G with everything. Add hot giardiniera and a Cherry RC.” — @CheapSeats411
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