Updated: July 13, 2012 5:58PM
Alex Okrent, a staffer in the Obama for America campaign who has worked with Barack Obama’s political team since 2004, died Friday after collapsing in the Chicago headquarters.
President Barack Obama called his family to offer his condolences. Obama later consoled campaign staffers in a dial-in conference call on Friday afternoon.
Okrent worked in the campaign’s paid media department, which handled advertising for Obama’s re-election bid. He was a staffer for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and worked on his 2004 race for an Illinois Senate seat. Okrent also worked in a variety of other campaigns.
After he collapsed, Chicago paramedics were called to the Obama headquarters in the Prudential Building where he was given emergency treatment. Okrent was then taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Okrent was a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He is about 29 years old and from Evanston.
Lynn Sweet
