UPDATE
Vice President Dick Cheney was treated "without complication" Wednesday for an abnormal heartbeat, his office said, making a short visit to a hospital to restore his normal rhythm with an electric shock.
It was the second time in less than a year that Cheney, a 67-year-old with a history of four heart attacks, had experienced and been treated for an atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart. The episode caused the vice president to cancel his attendance at a political campaign event in Illinois.
UPDATE
From the Associated Press:
Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an abnormal heart rhythm and canceled his campaign event in Illinois.
Cheney's press secretary Megan Mitchell said that during a visit with doctors Wednesday morning, it was discovered that the vice president was having a recurrence of atrial fibrillation -- an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of his heart.
Later Wednesday, Cheney will visit George Washington University Hospital for an outpatient procedure to restore his normal rhythm.
UPDATE 10/15
Vice President Dick Cheney has canceled his appearance at a Homer Glen fundraiser for Republican Congressional candidate Marty Ozinga, the Tribune reports.
--------------
From the Associated Press:
Vice President Dick Cheney will be in Illinois campaigning for Republican Marty Ozinga in a tight House race where a GOP seat is up for grabs.
Cheney is to attend a private fundraiser Wednesday at Ozinga's house in the Chicago suburb of Homer Glen. Ozinga's campaign manager says the event is closed to media.
Ozinga is challenging Democratic state Sen. Debbie Halvorson in what both parties call a tight race to replace exiting Republican Congressman Jerry Weller.
Weller isn't seeking an eighth term amid ethics questions.
The 11th congressional district stretches from the suburbs south of Chicago to the farms of central Illinois. It's been reliably Republican but has seen some movement toward Democrats.
Green Party newcomer Jason Wallace also is in the race.
A seat at the luncheon costs $500, the Joliet Herald News reports. While $2,300 gets lunch plus a picture with the vice president. Ozinga's campaign manager told the paper that "hundreds" will attend the luncheon, and said "quite a few" guests chose the pricier photo option, but did not offer a specific number.
Halvorson released an ad knocking Ozinga for bringing Cheney to the South suburbs:
The Green Party's Wallace, a longshot candidate, has pledged to cap his campaign spending at $10,000, or, as the Herald News notes, "the cost of 20 plates at the Cheney luncheon."