Jesse Jackson released from Chicago hospital

updated 2:43 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2008

CHICAGO - The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been released from a Chicago hospital, two days after he was admitted for severe stomach pains.

A spokeswoman for Jackson's civil rights organization, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, says Jackson was released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital shortly before noon on Friday.

Jackson underwent a series of tests that determined he was suffering from viral gastroenteritis — an infection caused by a number of viruses. His office later said he had been stricken by food poisoning and was severely dehydrated.

Rainbow/PUSH spokeswoman LaToya Porter says the 66-year-old Jackson was feeling much better and that he was planning to attend a Rainbow/PUSH event Saturday.

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