CHICAGO (CBS) — A convicted felon has been charged in the shooting of an on-duty Chicago firefighter who was responding to a car fire, police confirm.

Hollis Williams, 29, is charged with four felonies: unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated battery of a firefighter, aggravated battery of a police officer, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He is also charged with multiple traffic violations.

Hollis Williams, 29 (Credit: Chicago Police Department)

Williams was arrested Thursday shortly after 10 p.m. in the 2800 block of West Irving Park Road.

Police say two people set a car on fire near Wilson and Kimball before fleeing the scene.

Chicago police say firefighters were responding to the car fire when four people exited a nearby building. A woman from that group got in a car to leave when two other individuals began firing at her. Two of the three men who exited the building with her returned fire.

During the exchange, one of the bullets hit a 36-year-old firefighter in his left leg.

All the people responsible for the shooting fled the scene.

Narcotics officers who were “very familiar with this building” investigated and were able to corroborate the story with others in the building.

Police say when the suspect was arrested he rammed a sergeant’s vehicle and ran over another officer’s foot before leading officers on a foot chase. He also discarded a handgun during the chase, but it was later recovered, police say.

Williams was scheduled to appear in bond court Saturday.

Police are searching for the second “known individual” who fired from near the building as well.

There is video confirming the events, police say, but the quality is not high enough to identify the offenders.

The firefighter is back at home and in good spirits, according to Fire Commissioner Richard C. Ford II.

Three guns were recovered from an apartment in the building. Two match shell casings discharging in the direction of the firefighters.

A second car fire on the same block the next day is not believed to be related.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A 33-year-old business owner was fatally shot in the chest while trying to defend himself during a robbery in Chicago’s Park Manor neighborhood, Chicago police confirm.

A 33-year-old business owner was fatally shot in the chest while trying to defend himself during a robbery Feb. 7, 2020, police said. (CBS)

Mohammed Maali, from Bridgeview, was a husband and father of four young children.

Four robbers entered his Park Manor convenience store and demanded the cash drawer Friday around 1:45 p.m., police said.

Maali was armed and tried to defend himself.

Gunfire was exchanged, and Maali was hit at close range.

His business partner described him as a kind and generous man.

“Everybody loved him. He was loved by everyone,” she said.

Two of the four suspects were shot in their legs.

All four ran from the scene but were arrested.

Charges are pending.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A woman has been charged in a crash that killed her spouse and injured an Illinois State Trooper Monday.

Camesia Miller, 46, is charged with involuntary manslaughter after police say she unintentionally caused the fatal crash on I-57.

Camesia Miller (Credit: ISP Public Information Office)

It’s not clear what she did to cause the crash.

She was released from the hospital Friday and is in Maywood Jail.

Police say Miller was a passenger in the car. Her spouse, Sindi Miller was the driver.

Two other vehicles were involved in the crash, including the squad car of the Illinois State Trooper, who was following behind the vehicle.

The trooper was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Sindi Miller later died from her injuries.

PALATINE, Ill. (CBS) — Harper College in Palatine is on alert for the coronavirus.

In an email to students, the college president said it was looking into whether a student may have been exposed to the deadly virus. However, there are no confirmed cases involving students or faculty at the college. The student in question was not infected and poses no risk, the school’s interim director of communications said.

Meanwhile the Chicago couple who contracted the mysterious virus is at home under quarantine.

The husband and wife are the first confirmed person to person transmission case in the United States.

They are also the only two cases in Illinois.

At least 722 people have died from the virus. All but two of them are from China. The other deaths are in Hong Kong and the Philippines. On Saturday the U.S. embassy said a 60-year-old American citizen died in Wuhan, China.

More than 31,000 people worldwide are infected. The majority of the patients are in Wuhan.

The suburban teen who walked into a Joliet Walmart wearing a medical mask and announcing he had coronavirus before spraying Lysol everywhere turned himself in to police.

Tyler Wallace wore a sign on his back claiming he had the virus. The 17-year-old boy seen with Wallace is facing charges as a juvenile.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago police say a person was struck by a train near the Addison Red Line stop around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Police responded to the call of a person on the tracks in the 900 block of West Addison.

According to Chicago police, an intoxicated 28-year-old man jumped the turn style at the train station and ran onto the platform where he later intentionally fell onto the tracks before he was struck. He was transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, although police originally reported the man had died.

(Credit: Rachel Snow)

Power was out in both directions around 5:30 p.m.

Traffic is also shut down both ways from Sheffield to Fremont.

CTA officials suggest commuters consider alternative transportation.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Fiasco is the best description for what happened during the Iowa Caucuses.

The complications at those “admittedly confusing for outsiders” Iowa caucuses were twofold. A coding error made it difficult for many caucus chairs at the last minute to download a mobile app to report their results, and then the backup phone hotline was overloaded with their calls.

“You hand them a new app, you don’t test it,” said Jim Allen with the Chicago Board of Elections.

Local election officials say Illinois has a system in place to avoid those kinds of mishaps.

“There is no third party app,” said Matt Dietrch with the Illinois State Board of Elections. “There is no mobile phone transmission.”

The cyber security measures guarding the Illinois vote are a result of the 2016 hack into the personal information of 76,000 voters.

“We were the one election authority in the United States that actually got hacked by Russia,” said Dietrch.

Since then a $13.2 million federal grant has helped Illinois beef up its electronic protections. The Illinois State Board of Elections has hired four cyber security agents who search for possible vulnerabilities in each county’s election system.

Only six pretested voting systems are approved for state use. Vote tallies can only be reported through a private network, and no matter how you cast your vote, paper backups are mandatory.

“We work closely now with Homeland Security and the FBI, something I never thought would be necessary,” said Allen.

The Chicago Board of Elections has also hired a cyber security expert. It has invested $21 million in new voting machines we’ll see this year that will scan paper ballots marked in pen, detecting errors like an over-vote, or missing initials.

Elections judges were being trained Saturday, but the entire system went through a mock election test last December to identify and rectify any potential glitches.

“A caucus is nothing like an election,” Allen said. “You don’t have paper ballots and a paper trail that you can recount. You can’t recount a discussion in a school gymnasium.”

Election officials seem less concerned with ballot hacking and more concerned with misinformation circulating purposely on social media impacting the vote, such as false information on how late polls are open.

Election officials are encouraging voters to be skeptical and verify information on the state government websites.

Primary day in Illinois is March 17.

CHICAGO (CBS) — One man is dead and two others are seriously wounded after a shooting in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood.

(CBS)

The shooting happened just before 10 Saturday morning near Congress and California.

Police say the victims were standing on the corner when a man walked up, pulled out two handguns and fired several shots.

So far no one is in custody.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago police are investigating after a shootout with police in the Lakeview neighborhood around 5:15 Sunday morning left one man dead.

A gunman who shot a victim and shot at officers is deceased and this weapon was recovered on scene. Incident is under investigation by @ChicagoCOPA pic.twitter.com/GZoBpJfVlF

— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 9, 2020

Police responded to a call for a disturbance in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue.

While officers were in the area one man shot another and fled on foot. The victim was struck in the neck and cheek is in critical condition at a local hospital, police said.

The initial disturbance and shooting happened near Addison and Ashland. The suspect was shot and killed near Waveland and Marshfield. Neighbor sent me this picture. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/ra1xPCwk1C

— Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) February 9, 2020

An officer found the man believed to have shot the victim. That man fired at officers who fired back, killing the man. He was pronounced dead on the scene, and a weapon was recovered.

Police responded to a disturbance call. Officers already in the area since bars were closing. A man with a gun confronted them. He shot at officers and officers fired back. @cbschicago

— Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) February 9, 2020

The officer who shot and killed the suspect is also being looked at for bumps and bruises after falling while chasing the suspect.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the incident, including the comprehensive use of force investigation.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigators are on scene of an Officer Involved Shooting at 3611 N. Ashland in District 019. If anyone has information related to the incident contact COPA at 312-746-3609 or visit

— COPA (@ChicagoCOPA) February 9, 2020

The officer involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days, according to a release by the Chicago Police Department.

This is a developing story. 

CHICAGO (CBS) — Two men were shot and killed during a robbery attempt in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood Sunday morning, police confirm.

The men were standing with a woman in a parking lot at Tan Court and Wells Street just after 2 a.m.

(CBS)

Another man came up and announced a robbery.

The woman complied, but the men resisted.

That’s when the robber fired several shots, hitting and killing the men. Both men, 38 and 39, were shot in the head and pronounced dead on the scene.

The 44-year-old woman was not injured.

The suspected robber fled but was caught by police in the 2200 block of South Princeton.

Charges are pending.

CHICAGO (CBS) — As winter weather moves into the area, Chicago’s airports are cancelling flights.

As of 11:16 a.m. 366 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport, and average delays were 46 minutes.

A traffic management program was also in effect for traffic arriving at O’Hare, causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 3 hours 39 minutes, according to the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center.

At Midway International Airport, 78 flights were canceled and average delays were less than 15 minutes.

Snow will begin in the far northwest and come later in Chicago. It could fall heavily at times but will come through pretty quickly.

The snow will change to rain by late afternoon.

Expect about two to four inches and possible higher amounts near the Wisconsin line.

Monday is expected to be partly sunny with temperatures in the mid 30s.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A deadly shooting in Humboldt Park left a driver killed and a 7-year-old girl shot.

Chicago police say the 36-year-old man and the girl were in a van with three other people when they heard someone shooting from behind them.

The van came to a stop near Potomac and Rockwell, where officers were called.

(CBS)

The 36-year-old was driving when he was shot in the head.

The girl was shot in the back.

Both were taken to Stroger Hospital where the man was pronounced dead.

The girl is listed in fair condition. CBS 2 learned she is related to the man, but their exact relationship is unclear.

The other passengers, all adults, told police they did not see the shooter and have no idea where the gunshots came from.

No one else was hurt in the shooting.

Area North detectives are investigating.

CHICAGO (CBS) — If you’re looking to get out of cold Chicago for a quick vacation, but you aren’t sure where to go, we have some ideas.

Kendra Thornton, of Royal Travel and Tours, has some great deals and a little something for everyone including a cruise to Alaska, a ski trip to Vail, Colorado, a romantic Wisconsin getaway, and a trip to Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

For more information, visit the Royal Travel and Tours website.

CHICAGO (CBS) — In honor of Black History Month several people are being recognized for their fight against slavery’s last stronghold in Mauritania, a country in western Africa.

The event is hosted by the Abolition Institute, which is based in Chicago.

The ceremony will be held Wednesday at the historic Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often visited that church.

The ceremony begins at 6 p.m., and everyone is welcome to attend.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A man who was hit by a Red Line train at the Addison Street station this weekend is dead and has been identified.

Police were called around 5:30 p.m. Saturday for a person on the tracks at the station, located just east of Wrigley Field.

Police said the 28-year-old man jumped the handicap gate at the station. He then ran onto the platform and intentionally fell onto the tracks before he was struck by the train, police said.

The man was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

He was identified as Thomas R. Harris, 28.

The incident snagged Red Line service and shut down part of Addison Street Saturday evening.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A man and three teenage boys have been charged, after a shootout left a Park Manor neighborhood store owner dead and two suspects injured with gunshot wounds.

Sammy Trice, 34, and three boys, ages 13, 15, and 17, were charged with first-degree murder, police said.

The three boys appeared in Juvenile Court on Sunday. Trice had an appearance in Central Bond Court (Br. 1), but he was not physically there as he remained in the hospital Sunday, police said.

Store owner Mohammed Maali, 33, of Bridgeview, was confronted by four suspects around 1:45 p.m. Friday. They announced a robbery and took the cash register drawer.

Maali’s Michigan Merchandise convenience store is located near 71st and State streets in the Park Manor neighborhood.

A shootout during a store robbery left a worker dead in the Park Manor neighborhood. (CBS)

Maali was fatally wounded in the left side of this chest.

One suspect, a 17-year-old male, sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and left side of the body. He was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center, where doctors stabilized him. The adult suspect was shot in the left leg and was also stabilized by doctors at U of C.

The other two suspects were also taken into custody by police.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Six people – three children among them – were injured Sunday afternoon in a crash in the Marquette Park neighborhood.

The crash happened Sunday afternoon at 72nd Street and Kedzie Avenue.

The Fire Department said three adults and one child were taken to the hospital in fair-to-serious condition, while two more children were taken to the hospital in good condition.

The Fire Department later said all the patients were in good condition.

Further details were not immediately available.

CHICAGO (CBS) — The snow was over for the Chicago area late Sunday afternoon, with rain taking the place of the snow from south to north.

As of 5:30 p.m., the Winter Weather advisory that had been in place for the Chicago area was over.

Earlier, the advisory had covered the entire area, including the city of Chicago. It hung on until 4 p.m. for Lake and McHenry counties.

(Credit: CBS 2)

CBS 2 Meteorologist Tim McGill reported the snow totaled 2 inches in Lindenhurst and McHenry, 1.8 inches in Rockford, 1.3 inches in Valparaiso, 1 inch at O’Hare International Airport, 0.9 inch in Aurora, 0.4 inch at Midway International Airport and at Romeoville.

(Credit: CBS 2)

Strong winds along with the snowfall caused low visibility in some areas earlier.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed 211 snow vehicles in response. Salt spreaders worked on keeping main routes and Lake Shore Drive safe and passable until the snow stops. The department said the snow vehicles would transition to neighborhood roads when the snow stops, if needed, according to a release from the department.

This snow also caused delays and cancellations at Chicago airports.

(Credit: CBS 2)

Monday morning will bring clearer skies with a chance for some sunshine.

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. (CBS) — The snow had made its way out of the Chicago area as night fell on Sunday, leaving behind rain as temperatures warmed.

But in the midday hours, the snowy weather had drivers slowing down and trying to avoid slick spots.

CBS 2 Meteorologist Tim McGill reported the snow totaled 2 inches in Lindenhurst and McHenry, 1.8 inches in Rockford, 1.3 inches in Valparaiso, 1 inch at O’Hare International Airport, 0.9 inch in Aurora, 0.4 inch at Midway International Airport and at Romeoville.

As CBS 2’s Steven Graves reported, some of the heaviest snow was seen in Buffalo Grove. It only ended up amounting to an inch or two on sidewalks and the roads were mostly just wet – but on the expressways, the visibility and wind made conditions treacherous.

Around 12:15 p.m., snow started falling on the Dan Ryan Expressway near Pilsen. Snow plow drivers were monitoring the roads ahead of time.

“It’s just really bad out there – very slick roads,” said truck driver Pauletta Wood.

We caught up with Wood near O’Hare. She took a much-needed break on her route from out northwest in Rockford to Chicago.

“I saw a car flipped over under an overpass. The fire trucks were there. The police were there. And another car spun off and into the side of the road a well,” she said.

The snow and wind impacted travel in the sky too. Our cameras caught delays amid the Winter Weather Advisory at O’Hare.

As of just before 4 p.m., 430 flights had been canceled at O’Hare. At Midway, 81 flights were canceled. There were also major delays.

Simon Thomas stuck to the roads, which from his vantage point were pretty clear.

“The left turns, they didn’t clean. Only the straight roads are clean,” Thomas said. “But it’s not bad.”

But around 2 p.m., as CBS 2’s Graves and his crew headed up north to Buffalo Grove, there was some reduced visibility.

We found John Costello sitting and waiting for the worst of it.

“I just checked my radar before you walked up,” he said.

The plow driver said he had less work than expected on Sunday, but the job did not end with the snow moving out.

“Now it’s a question of whether it turns to rain, or if it melts quick enough before we get into freezing temperatures,” Costello said.

Salt was put down well before the snow started. But drivers are still advised to watch out for black ice.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Police on Sunday were searching for a man who was reported missing from the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Shelton Johnson, 64, was last seen on Saturday in the 3200 block of West Walnut Street, police said.

Shelton Johnson, 64, was last seen in East Garfield Park on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. (Credit: Chicago Police)

Johnson is African-American with black hair and brown eyes, and a medium complexion. He stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a tan sweater and tan pants.

Anyone who sees him is asked to call the Area North Special Victims Unit at (312) 744-8266.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A crowd packed into the Chinese American Museum on Sunday to mark the Year of the Rat.

The festive event at the museum, at 238 W. 23rd St. in Chinatown, featured the traditional lion dance. The dance is said to bring good luck and fortune.

Families also enjoyed Chinese music and food, and cultural arts and crafts.

The website ChineseNewYear.net notes that the rat is the first of all the zodiac animals.

One myth claims the Jade Emperor decided the order of the animals would be determined by the order in which they arrived at his party. The rat first tricked the ox into giving him a ride and then jumped down so he could be the first to arrive, the website said.

Rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus in Chinese culture, the website said.

The years 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, and 2008 were also years of the rat.