LINCOLN - Classes in the Chester-East Lincoln school district have been canceled for Thursday to allow students and staff members to attend the funeral of a longtime special-education teacher who died of a rare, rapidly progressing brain disorder.

Connie Albert, 57, of Lincoln died Saturday night of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, said her husband, Jack Albert. Creutzfeldt-Jakob belongs to a family of diseases that includes the animal disease commonly called "mad cow disease," according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

However, Illinois Department of Public Health reported that there are no confirmed or suspected cases in Illinois of the type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) known as human mad cow disease.

There are various forms of CJD. In 85 percent of cases, called sporadic CJD, the cause is unknown. Another form, called variant CJD, has been linked to contaminated beef, which has not been identified in Illinois, the Department of Public Health said.

Albert said Tuesday he's not sure how his wife got the disease, which affects one person in 1 million worldwide, or about 200 people in the United States each year. According to the neurological institute, the disease can't be transmitted through the air or through casual contact.

"CJD is a devastating brain disease with no treatment and no cure," Albert said.

"We lost a pretty special person," Albert said. "Today, we're being overwhelmed" with support from Connie Albert's friends, family and co-workers, he said.

"She was always a happy woman," he said. "She saw the good in everyone."

Connie Albert began teaching in 1973 and had been with Chester-East Lincoln since 1994, said Jack Albert, who is in the heating and air conditioning business.

She was a special-education and remedial reading and math teacher for kindergarten through second grade, Chester-East Lincoln Superintendent Victoria Childs said. Chester-East Lincoln has about 320 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

"She was a very dedicated teacher," Childs said. "She was loved by the staff. We are all grieving with the family."

While teachers were at Chester-East Lincoln on Tuesday, students don't begin the fall semester until today. A crisis team provided by the Tri-County Special Education Association will be at school today to offer emotional support to students and staff, Childs said.

Jack Albert said his wife's illness began a couple of months ago with vision problems and high blood pressure. Within a few weeks, she became disoriented, medicines were no help, and she was diagnosed with the disease, he said.

Researchers believe that an unusual virus or another organism causes the disease, the neurological institute said. The disease has a long incubation period, perhaps as long as 40 years.

Albert said he hopes his wife's death will prompt more research into the disease.