Whooping cough on the rise in some areas around state

CHAMPAIGN – Beware of coughing friends and relatives next week, especially if you'll be having Thanksgiving dinner in some areas of northern Illinois.

Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, has been on the rise this year in Lake County and Chicago. And clusters of pertussis have turned up among school-age children in Cook, Lake, McHenry, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties, state public health officials say.

Vermilion County has had one reported case this year, but the patient was an Indiana resident, and there haven't been any cases reported in Champaign County this year, local public health officials said.

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