CHICAGO, July 13 (UPI) -- Alex Okrent, a staffer for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, died after collapsing Friday at the campaign's Chicago headquarters, officials said.
Okrent, who was 29, had worked with the Obama team since the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign. He worked in the campaign's so-called paid media department, helping coordinate advertising.
Chicago paramedics gave emergency treatment to Okrent at Obama campaign headquarters before taking him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The president, who was campaigning in Virginia Friday, called Okrent's family to express condolences, the campaign said. He also spoke with other campaign staffers in a conference call.
Okrent, a native of Evanston, Ill., was a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.