Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Communication Breakdown; Human-Machine Interface
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Procedure; Human Factors
A CRJ2 was assigned FL230 230; DEBAR3 to CVG. ERAM auto flashed the CRJ2 about 15 miles north of FWA; (40-ish miles from the ZAU-ZID boundary). The ZAU/ZID LOA requires CVG arrivals to be at or above FL210. My D-Side trainee called MIE sector and coordinated that the CRJ2 would descend when clear of traffic. That traffic was an ERJ; WATSN1 to ORD at FL220; head on with the CRJ2. We had just received communications from MIE; the ERJ was still in MIE's airspace; and the CRJ2 was still well inside our airspace; still on our frequency. MIE amended the data block; without control; still in our airspace; to show an altitude of FL210. The CRJ2 was at FL230; with opposite direction traffic at 12 o'clock and 10 miles at FL220. The MIE Controller could have used a local interim altitude; but it is never appropriate to amend a data block in another Controller's airspace; where you do not have control and are not communicating with the aircraft. I believe that would violate the requirement that the data block reflect what the aircraft is doing. I believe both facilities should fall back to HOST until clarification about proper data block coordination is completed and ZID controllers retrained on ERAM and 4th line usage.
ZAU Controller described an unsafe event when an adjacent Controller amended data block information not under hiS control.