City and state officials today announced nine probable cases of swine flu in Illinois, including five in Chicago, and said the state is gearing up efforts to monitor and manage the disease.

Of the Chicago cases, three are on the North Side and two are on the South Side.

Outside of Chicago, the other four cases are in Kane, DuPage and Lake counties, according to Illinois Department of Public Health director Damon Arnold. In general, a probable case is considered 99 percent certain.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said all departments are working together to coordinate the state's response to the swine flu threat.

And Mayor Richard M. Daley said the city is activating a joint operations center, which will coodinate responses from fire, police and aviation.

Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman said the school system is monitoring student attendance rates, looking for a 5 percent dip at schools. School officials will call the families of absent children to find out why the students are absent.

In the cases on the North Side of Chicago, a 12-year old girl was hospitalized -- the only hospitalization.  The other North Side cases involve a 35, and a 36-year-old female. On the South Side, the cases involved a 20, and 25-year-old male.

None of the suburban victims have been hospitalized.

Today's news conference followed the closure of a North Side elementary school.

Officials closed Kilmer Elementary School, at 6700 N. Greenview, for at least two days this morning, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention runs tests conducted on the 12-year-old student. While the case has been described as probable, the Chicago Public Schools Web site said it was confirmed.

Swine flu originated in Mexico, killing more than 150 people there. More than 90 cases have been confirmed in the United States, and a Texas infant is the first casualty of the virus. Yesterday, a Notre Dame student was the first confirmed case in Indiana. Texas Gov. Rick Perry today said that he would consider closing the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Sunday, Dr. Terry Mason, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said it was inevitable that swine flu would reach Chicago.

While President Barack Obama has urged people not to panic, the CDC and the World Health Organization have been preparing for swine flu as if it is a pandemic. On Monday, the press attaché at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago said the disease was no longer deadly. But more people continue to show symptoms, including fever, head ache, body aches and coughing.