Illinois quick hits: Girl dies after emergency landing; health officials collecting syphilis data

Girl dies after emergency landing

An 8-year-old girl died despite efforts by paramedics and sheriff’s deputies after an emergency landing at the Greater Peoria International Airport. A flight, which started in Joplin, Mo. and was destined for Chicago, landed at the airport at around 7 a.m. Thursday for a medical emergency. Members of the sheriff’s office, Advanced Medical Transport and fire personnel from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182nd Airlift Wing responded. The girl was taken to an area hospital where she ultimately died.

Not guilty in alleged rape case

Former University of Illinois basketball star Terrance Shannon Jr. was found not guilty of rape in Kansas. Shannon was charged in December following an alleged incident at a bar in September. He was suspended from the team before he sued the U of I to be reinstated. Shannon, who attended Lincoln Park High School, will be entering the NBA draft.

Health officials collecting syphilis data

The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced that it has launched a new data collection process to help gather more clinical information about what they are calling a troubling increase in congenital syphilis cases. Last fall, IDPH launched the Perinatal Syphilis Warmline, a new phone service created to provide expert clinical guidance for prenatal healthcare providers. These steps come in response to a more than tripling in the number of congenital syphilis cases in Illinois since 2020. There were 29 cases in the state in 2020, and according to provisional data, 103 cases in 2023.