CHICAGO (CBS)– The Lincoln Park Zoo is taking in two chimpanzees you may recognize from their roles in movies, or music videos.

When the Wildlife Waystation in California closed, over 40 chimpanzees were left needing care.

Credit: Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo will be home to chimpanzees Eli and Susie this spring.

The 13 and 11-year old chimpanzees have appeared in music videos, advertisements and movies.

“Our past research has shown the detrimental effects of chimpanzees in entertainment and other inappropriate settings – not only on the welfare of individuals, but on conservation efforts – so we owe it to these chimpanzees to provide them the best possible life from here on out,” Stephen Ross a director at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Fisher Center said.

CHICAGO (CBS) — At least 50 units at a Public Storage facility in the Montclare/Galewood neighborhood were broken into overnight, police said.

The manager reported to police that the fence around the property in the 2300 block of North Harlem was breached around 3 a.m. and the locks of at least 50 units were pried open.

Police said they don’t know what was taken because that owners are still being notified.

There is no one currently in custody with Area North detectives investigating.

CHICAGO (CBS)– Flames destroyed two businesses Tuesday morning in the South Loop, as more than 100 firefighters were called in to extinguish an extra-alarm blaze.

The fire started around 2 a.m. near 23rd and Michigan, at a storefront which housed Pronto Cleaners and Laundry and Lax Energy Worx – a holistic healers’, yoga, and massage therapy studio.

In less than 45 minutes, it was all gone.

“It’s heart-wrenching,” said Lax Energy Worx owner Paris Metcalfe.

Seven years of sweat and hard work are now nothing but debris.

“It’s a feeling I can’t even really explain,” Metcalfe said. “At some point, I just had to walk away. I couldn’t even watch anymore.”

Metcalfe said she couldn’t bear to see her studio burning down. Her shop, along with Pronto Cleaners, were both a total loss after the early morning fire.

Firefighters worked quickly, cutting through a chain-link fence behind the alley to get closer to the building.

The fire was so intense, the Fire Department brought in more than 100 firefighters, 12 engines, nine trucks, and a tower ladder to get the job done.

Although the fire was struck out by 1:45 a.m., the two businesses were gutted.

“It started out with smoke in the front, and then the flames got crazy,” said Shawn Holloway, who owns a nearby business. “This is really, in my opinion, detrimental to the community because these are businesses that have been here for a long time.”

The Fire Department said the blaze might have started in the back of the dry cleaner’s.

As for Metcalfe, she said the best she can do for her mind right now, is to be optimistic about the future.

“I’m just hoping for the best possible outcome moving forward; and sometimes beautiful things come from the ashes,” she said.

The Fire Department said no one was injured in the blaze. The cause remains under investigation.

CHICAGO CBS)– Saturday will mark one year since the deadly mass shooting at the Henry Pratt company in Aurora.

Five Pratt employees died that day after they were gunned down by a co-worker who had just gotten fired.

Several other people were hurt. Police on the scene killed the gunman and five police officers were among the wounded.

The sudden, deadly, violence rocked the community.

Tuesday morning, city officials are remembering the victims. Aurora’s mayor reflected on the last 12 months.

“We stand here today, not simply to recount what happened, but to remember our triumph over tragedy,” Mayor Richard C. Irvin said.

The Pratt exhibit shows five white crosses that stood for weeks outside the plant along with words of encouragement.

On Saturday, flags in Aurora will fly at half-staff.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Another dozen men who say they were framed by corrupt former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts and his crew had their cases cleared en masse on Tuesday, the latest in a string of mass exonerations tied to Watts over the past few years.

Cook County Judge Judge Leroy Martin granted the motion to vacate 13 convictions against 12 men, after Cook County prosecutors agreed to drop their cases on Tuesday, following a review of hundreds of cases linked to Watts.

Prosecutors have cleared dozens of men and women of charges connected to Watts since 2016, typically announcing the exonerations in large batches.

Watts pleaded guilty in 2012 to stealing from a homeless man who posed as a drug dealer as part of an undercover FBI sting. He admitted to routinely extorting money from drug dealers, and was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Prosecutors have said Watts and the officers under his command routinely planted evidence and fabricated charges in order to further their own gun and drug trade.

According to attorneys with The Exoneration Project, at least 75 men and women have been cleared of various charges brought by Watts and officers under his command, with at least 95 convictions overturned since 2016. The Exoneration Project has said Watts and his officers were involved in at least 500 convictions.

“We will continue to review these cases and provide legal remedies when appropriate for the wrongfully accused as we work to right the wrongs of the past,” Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement Tuesday.

PLAINFIELD (CBS) — Devin White, 25, of Plainfield has died as a result of injuries he suffered in a dog attack on Saturday.

At approximately 9:15 pm, Plainfield police officers responded to a residence in the 22900 block of Judith Drive for a report of a dog bite. Upon arrival, officers located a male pit bull inside the residence acting aggressively.

White suffered severe injuries to his arms and was transported to St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet. He was later transferred to Loyola Hospital in Maywood for further treatment, police said.

Three other victims, a 52-year-old female, 25-year-old female and 19-year-old male, suffered minor dog bite injuries and were treated and released.

Officers were able to partially gain control of the dog, but due to its aggressiveness towards the officers and the victims, the dog was immediately euthanized.

Initial investigation indicates the dog, which was owned by the victims, was unprovoked and attacked for an unknown reason.

The incident is under investigation by the Plainfield Police Department and Will County Animal Control.

CHICAGO (CBS)– The Backstreet Boys are coming to Chicago this summer.

The DNA World Tour presale tickets went on sale Tuesday morning.

North America you knew we’d be coming back again We’re so excited to bring the #DNAWorldTour to even more of you guys!! Tickets are on sale this Friday & fan club pre-sale starts tomorrow! Check https://t.co/wR7Soy5NL3 for all the info #BSBDNA2020 pic.twitter.com/DSP2ARQYjd

— Backstreet Boys (@backstreetboys) February 10, 2020

The Backstreet Boys will perform at the Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre on Aug. 1.

Public Onsale tickets will be available for purchase starting at noon on Feb. 14.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Vandals broke two sets of glass doors at Gary City Hall on Tuesday.

City spokesman Michael Gonzalez said the damage was reported to the glass doors on the building’s west entrance around 7:15 a.m.

(Credit: CBS)

Someone used objects to break the glass doors, but Gonzalez would not say what the objects were.

Authorities do not believe anything was stolen from inside.

Police were reviewing video footage from surveillance cameras in the building.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Illinois will be the first to do in-state testing for the coronavirus.

According to the Illinois Department of Public once specimens are available, they’ll be taken to the Chicago IDPH lab and results should be available within 24 hours.

“The ability to do this testing will mean we will be able to detect any new cases of novel coronavirus earlier and prevent any possible spread,” said IDPH Assistant Director Evonda Thomas-Smith. “We understand there is concern about this new virus, which is why having test results back quickly can help reduce some of those concerns.”

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to ship testing kits to U.S. and international labs. Medical professionals will be looking for those who have recently traveled as well as “exposure history” as well as symptoms, including fever.

“It’s an exciting development to be able to add this tool to our arsenal as we work to limit the spread of this virus,” said Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, who added that the tests will help the IDPH and the CDC diagnose and track those who may have been exposed in a faster, more timely manner.

“A quicker response will help alleviate concerns of those being tested as well as the general public,” Arwady said. “We continue to work very closely with federal, state, and local partners to ensure that we have a robust and coordinated public health response to emerging infectious diseases.”

There have been two confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Illinois.

A couple from Chicago tested positive for the deadly virus. The two patients, a 61-year-old woman who had traveled to Wuhan, China and her husband in his 60s, were released from the hospital and allowed back home under the guidance of the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health, the hospital said.

The man was confirmed as the first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus in the U.S. He had not traveled to China, but did go to Cleveland for work. But Ohio health officials said he did not show any symptoms when he went on a day trip in January.

The state has also set up a hotline for people who have any questions about the coronavirus (800-889-3931) and an email address for anyone who wants more information DPH.SICK@illinois.gov.

People in Chicago can call a local number for their information: 312-746-4835.

Dial 1-800-889-3931 or email DPH.SICK@ILLINOIS.GOV to have all your Coronavirus questions answered. pic.twitter.com/oXmeylDUbp

— IDPH (@IDPH) February 7, 2020

The state’s health department is in the process of making testing available online in its Carbondale and Springfield laboratories.

More information about novel coronavirus can be found on the IDPH website, including Frequently Asked Questions.

CHICAGO (CBS) — An Evergreen Park doctor who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last fall left behind a suicide note that suggests he didn’t provide vaccinations to some children whose parents had asked for them, authorities said.

Dr. Van Koinis was found dead in a Cook County Forest Preserve in Palos Township on Sept. 10, 2019.

The Cook County Sheriff’s office said its investigation of Koinis’ death by suicide revealed questions about his record-keeping practices.

“Investigators found that discerning who received vaccinations and who did not was unclear due to record keeping issues. Investigators also obtained information that suggests Dr. Koinis, a pediatrician, in some cases did not provide vaccinations to children at their parents’ request,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Koinis ran a practice at 3838 W. 95^th St. in Evergreen Park, and had been licensed to practice medicine in Illinois since 1991, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators are encouraging his former patients to speak to their current doctors to decide if they need to be tested for prior vaccinations.

Anyone with information about Koinis should call the sheriff’s office at 708-397-633.

Former patients with questions about personal or family medical records can call a special hotline at 630-670-1673.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Despite a promise to never place young people in restraints, another child in DCFS custody was shackled on Monday, this time for nearly 400 miles.

The 14-year-old female was in “hard ankle” restraints for 6.5 hours on a trip from Moline, Ill., to Springfield, Mo.

“No one in our care should ever be mistreated by this,” said DCFS spokesman Jassen Strokosch, who added the state will be terminating the contract with the transport company.

In December, the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services sent out a memo categorically banning the use of handcuffs or shackles when transporting young people.

The new rules came after multiple CBS 2 reports about Chicago foster kids who were shackled while in DCFS custody. CBS 2 was the first to expose the practice.

In a statement, the Illinois ALCU said: “We learned that yesterday another foster child was shackled during a DCFS transport. This is a clear violation of the child’s rights and DCFS’ promise to us, to the Court in B.H., and to all youth in care.

“This is not a question of policy – this is about common decency. People should not need training or elaborate approval protocols to know that you don’t shackle children.”

A memo issued by Acting DCFS Director Marc D. Smith states in boldface italics: “Under no circumstances shall any agent or employee of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (‘DCFS’), any agent or employee of any provider, or any transportation company designated to transport youth in DCFS care use handcuffs and/or shackles for transporting any youth in DCFS care. This prohibition applies to all forms of such transportation, including Secured Transport.”

“Secured transport” involves the use of a vehicle in which all the doors are locked and passengers cannot open them. It will be allowed under limited conditions, the DCFS said.

The DCFS said secured transport must be mandated under court order, ordered by a psychiatrist based on a youth’s mental health needs, or ordered by the DCFS director under “exigent circumstances.”

Secured transport has been used 131 times since 2017.

Soft restraints can also be used in even more limited circumstances. They are only allowed under court order or by order of a psychiatrist, the memo said.

Specific procedures and paperwork are required to ask for secured transport. An extensive form must be sent up the DCFS chain of command before a secure transport is approved.

CBS 2’s Chris Tye reported that new documents show the number of foster care kids in shackles is actually 10 times what we were told by the state.

Jawan Cross was shackled, on orders from DCFS, on a transport from a Chicago youth center to the suburbs.

“Some people in a van – a regular van – they shackled me, locked my feet down and locked my hands down,” Cross said.

Cross was one of at least 28 cases in which restraints were used in just the last two and a half years. DCFS later admitted that should never have happened.

“They told me they had to put me and handcuffs. I was wondering why,” Cross said.

We obtained DCFS transport records that show over the last 2.5 years 28 cases where restraints—leg shackles and handcuffs—were used on foster kids.

In November 2017, the documents show a 17-year-old girl was transported in those restraints from Chicago to Detroit, a 4.5-hour trip.

Chicago foster kids have also shackled for parts of trips to three cities in Tennessee – Memphis, Jackson and Waverly – and Fordyce, Arkansas.

“At some point, and I don’t know what that point is, but this is torture,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.

A state contract uncovered by CBS 2’s Tye revealed that transportation companies previously decided how to contain DCFS children during rides, not state experts.

CHICAGO (CBS) — The family of a man who was killed in his cell at Cook County Jail is suing the sheriff and the county, saying 19-year-old Pedro Ruiz never should have been locked up with a cellmate who had a documented history of attacks on fellow inmates.

“What happened to Pedro Ruiz in the Cook County Jail, while in Cook County’s custody, was not just easily preventable, was not just forseeable, but was absolutely disgraceful,” said Ruiz family attorney Nenye Uche. “It was easily preventable, definitely foreseeable.”

Pedro Ruiz (Source: Cook County Sheriff)

Last week, 24-year-old Christian Gonzalez was charged with first-degree murder in Ruiz’s death. Prosecutors said he beat Ruiz to death using a sock filled with bars of soap half an hour after Ruiz was placed in his cell on Feb. 1.

On Tuesday, Ruiz’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gonzalez, Cook County, and Sheriff Tom Dart.

Uche questioned how Gonzalez could have beaten Ruiz to death and guards at the jail didn’t hear anything while it was happening.

“The Cook County Sheriff’s office and the correctional facility is liable – absolutely liable – for an execution based on incompetence, and that’s what this case is about,” he said. “How is it possible that an inmate is beaten viciously and violently for 10 to 15 minutes at 2 a.m., where you can only hear a pin drop, where the jail is on lockdown, and not a single guard hears a scream. How is that possible?”

Christian Gonzalez (Source: Cook County Sheriff)

Gonzalez had been in the jail since June 2, 2019, when he was arrested on charges he used an assault-style rifle to shoot a man in 2017.

Ruiz was arrested on Jan. 29, after police identified him as a suspect in a recent shooting which left a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was placed in a Cook County Jail cell with Gonzalez on Feb. 1, shortly after being booked into the jail.

Not only were Gonzalez and Ruiz members of rival gangs, but sources said Gonzalez – who already was being held without bail on the attempted murder charges from last year – had been caught on video in November 2019 as he and four other inmates put another detainee in the hospital after a vicious beating.

After the November beating was over, video shows Gonzalez throwing a joker card from a deck of playing cards onto the victim’s lifeless body. Sources said this points to ongoing feuds inside the jail.

“How is it possible that an inmate who had a propensity, and a documented history of vicious attacks against other inmates is left in a cell with another inmate, and not isolated or segregated? How is that possible?” Uche said.

The sheriff’s office has declined to say why Ruiz and Gonzalez were placed in a cell together, and has said it has launched an internal investigation into all of the factors in the case.

Sources with knowledge of Ruiz’s death said a jail officer was doing a security check on the area where the two were being held on Feb. 1, and when the officer got near their cell, Gonzalez told the officer “Something is wrong with my cellmate.”

The officer saw Ruiz standing with his back against a wall. He didn’t appear to have visible injuries.

The officer notified his sergeant of what Gonzalez said, and then two sergeants and a lieutenant checked the cell, unlocking the door to find Ruiz lying on the floor, covered in blood. Sources said Gonzalez – who is known to have multiple disciplinary incidents – was handcuffed.

Officers started chest compressions on Ruiz, and called 911. An officer used an automated external defibrillator on Ruiz while others continued chest compressions. When paramedics arrived, they took over chest compressions, and put Ruiz on a gurney to take him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ruiz’s sister, Yulissa, said the attack could have been stopped.

“It could have been prevented if this guy, Gonzalez, would have been separated from other inmates,” she said.

Yulissa said she feels lost without her brother.

“I feel more than devastated,” she said. “I miss him, and nothing is going to take away this pain. We want justice, answers, and the most evidence to show us how this happened to him.”

Uche said he plans to file for subpoenas demanding video from cameras for every floor of the jail at the time of the attack, for records from the jail’s gang intelligence unit, and for information on every person responsible for the placement and classification of inmates.

“They have to give the family answers, and that’s really what they want. That’s what this is about, because it’s unbelievable to me that in the world’s number one democracy, the United States of America, an inmate is getting beat to death in a jail for 10 to 15 minutes, and absolutely no one hears,” he said.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Jussie Smollett could face a range of consequences if he is convicted of the new indictment issued against him, CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller explained Tuesday evening.

Smollett was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on six new charges of disorderly conduct, accusing him of filing false police reports claiming he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack last year.

The new charges amount to Class IV felonies – which is the lowest level of felony in Illinois law.

RELATED: How Will New Jussie Smollett Indictment Affect State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Reelection Bid?

“He’s back to square one,” Miller told CBS 2’s Irika Sargent. “Whatever he could have gotten a year ago before the case was dropped, he could get right now, and that includes deferred prosecution – if done the right way this time.”

The penalties could range from community service prison time.

‘But I think the big criteria for the prosecutor on that is, will he admit he did it? And will not consider deferred prosecution if he won’t admit he did it,” Miller said. “He could also get probation, and he could also get possibly a one- to three-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, which I do not think will happen in this case.”

RELATED: Catch Up On CBS 2’s Coverage Of The Smollett Case

Cook County prosecutors last year dropped 16 disorderly conduct charges against Smollett, just over a month after Chicago police had accused him of orchestrating a hoax because he was upset with his salary on the TV show “Empire.”

Miller explained that charging Smollett again does not amount to a case of double jeopardy.

“He was neither convicted nor acquitted in the first proceeding. The case was dropped,” Miller said. “The prosecutor then has the sole authority to bring it up again, since double jeopardy never attached to the case.”

It was unclear where Smollett was Tuesday night, but he is due in court on Feb. 24.

CHICAGO (CBS) — The new indictment of actor Jussie Smollett issued Tuesday not only raises new questions about his case and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of it – it also comes down weeks before the Illinois primary election.

CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov on Tuesday examined what the new indictment could mean for Foxx’s bid for reelection.

The State’s Attorney’s race is a hot one. Three people – attorney and former alderman Bob Fioretti and former prosecutors Bill Conway and Donna More – are challenging Foxx in the Democratic primary.

RELATED: Catch Up On CBS 2’s Coverage Of The Smollett Case

Foxx has admitted she made mistakes with the Smollett case and has tried to put it behind her.

But the new indictment will likely bring the case back to the forefront, and Foxx’s opponents all used it to challenge her on her decision making – at the very least.

More excoriated Foxx and accused her of wrongdoing in response to the new indictment.

“Now we know why Kim Foxx has refused to talk about the case. The Special Prosecutor’s decision is evidence that she was unlawfully influenced by calls from influential politicians and celebrities when she dismissed 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett,” More said in a statement. “This can no longer be considered just an error in judgment or a disappointing lack of transparency. There may be significant wrongdoing on the part of the State’s Attorney.”

Conway claimed Smollett got a “sweetheart deal” from Cook County prosecutors.

“What’s concerned me about this case since the beginning is that a connected, Hollywood celebrity got a sweetheart deal that residents of Cook County do not get. It seems that not only does the special prosecutor agree, but that Kim Foxx could provide him no evidence to the contrary,” he said in a statement. “While I’m disappointed that she has repeatedly lied to the public about this matter, I want to assure the residents of Cook County that as State’s Attorney I will fight for everyone, regardless of who you know or what zip code you’re from.”

Fioretti took it all a step further and issued a statement saying Foxx should resign.

“The reasons Kim Foxx should resign are many,” Fioretti said in the statement. “It is a race between corruption, incompetence and personal dishonesty to decide which is worse in her office,” Fioretti said.

The statement said Foxx should be ashamed of how she handled the case – claiming that Fox allowed phone calls from important people to affect her decision-making, lied about recusing herself, and gave Smollett special treatment as a celebrity.

“The State’s Attorney’s handling of the Smollett case shook the faith of Cook County residents in the justice system,” Fioretti said in the release. “It makes people wonder why celebrities get special treatment when we are all supposed to be equal under the law. They also wonder how their State’s Attorney can get away with lying to the public.”

But supporters also question the timing by Special Prosecutor Dan Webb.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss of the Trinity United Church of Christ compared it to former FBI Director James Comey announcing the reopening into the investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s emails less than two weeks before the 2016 election.

“It’s very interesting that Dan Webb at this moment, as we’re about a month away from an election, is now offering charges. This seems very similar to when James Comey intervened in reference to the national election,” Moss said. “And so we are seeing at this moment some politicization of this particular election.”

Foxx’s own campaign also invoked Comey and the Hillary Clinton email scandal.

“The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Jussie Smollett with multiple counts, and today the Special Prosecutor did the same. What’s questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the justice system, something voters in the era of Donald Trump should consider offensive,” the Foxx campaign wrote.

RELATED: More Than 2,000 Pages Released In Jussie Smollett Case File, Making All Documents Public | Jussie Smollett 911 Calls On Night Of Alleged Attack: ‘They Put Noose Around His Neck … That’s Really F—ed Up’

Moss was one of more than a dozen religious leaders who just Tuesday morning came out to back Foxx’s reelection bid. She has powerful support.

At the same news conference with Foxx, the Rev. Janette Wilson of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition shut down a question about Smollett.

“No, this press conference is not about Smollett, and we’re not going to allow to her to – we keep going over and over this,” Wilson said. “Ask her about her record. Ask her about the reforms that she made in Cook County.”

People from U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle all endorsed Foxx months ago.

But publicly, Foxx has never been able to shake her office’s dismissal of Smollett’s charges completely.

RELATED: Documents Reveal Police Believed Jussie Smollett Deal Would Include Admission Of Guilt | Jussie Smollett To Face Lawsuit Demanding He Pay Chicago $130,000 For Alleged Hoax

CBS 2’s Kozlov has reached out repeatedly to the State’s Attorney’s office, but no one there had commented as of 5 p.m.

A representative of Foxx’s campaign echoed what ministers said Tuesday morning – questioning the timing of the indictment and accusing it of further politicizing the justice system.

CHICAGO (CBS) —  Shackled again. For hundreds of miles.

Months after saying they wouldn’t shackle foster kids, the Department of Children and Family Services is apologizing for violating their own rules.

It was a CBS 2 investigation that lead to changes in state rules and efforts to change laws. CBS 2’s Chris Tye reported Tuesday on a new case that just happened Monday.

Some call it torture by the state of Illinois. Others a stain on DCFS. And now there’s a call for resignations at the top.

On Monday, a 14-year-old girl in DCFS care was shackled for almost seven hours  – all 397 miles – from Moline, Illinois to Springfield, Missouri.

“This is precisely what the department promised a few months ago that they wouldn’t do any longer,” said Ed Yohnka of the ACLU.

Despite the rule change, the state made no changes to their transport vendor of choice. The same company that shackled Juwan Cross and 28 other Illinois foster children over the last three years shackled that 14-year-old girl Monday.

In a statement, DCFS said: “we will be terminating our contract with the transport company. No one in our care should ever be mistreated like this. ”

A vendor change, a rule change, but the ACLU is calling for a change at the top of the office caring for the state’s most vulnerable.

“Someone did not have the common sense. To just say no to make this stop,” Yohnka said.

As of Tuesday, DCFS staffers involved in approving the transports have been suspended.

DEERFIELD, Ill. (CBS) — A Deerfield dad said Tuesday that his offer to pay $10,000 to the hit-and-run driver who hit his son will expire if that driver does not surrender by Friday evening.

The boy, Chase Thompson, is 12 years old and has autism. He was struck by a car on Deerfield Road near Beverly Place in Deerfield on at 7:07 p.m. Friday of last week.

Chase Thompson, 12, who has autism and is nonverbal, was hit by a car in Deerfield on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. (Credit: Thompson Family)

His father, Thad Thompson, told CBS 2’s Chris Tye that his offer to pay a reward to the driver who hit Chase for surrendering will expire at 7:07 p.m. this coming Friday – one week from the accident.

Chase is nonverbal, and is kept secure with double-cylinder locked doors. But with no jacket and no shoes, Chase still made it out of the family’s home this past Friday.

When Chase hit the street, the car hit him and left him for dead. As of Tuesday, Chase’s father said the boy was in critical, but stable condition at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (CBS) — Investigators are digging into the records of a southwest suburban pediatrician who took his own life.

There are concerns about whether the vaccinations of some of Dr. Van Koinis’ young patients were fake.

CBS 2’s Jim Williams reported Tuesday from the late doctor’s office in Evergreen Park.

Dr. Koinis worked out of a building on West 95th Street in Evergreen Park. The office was locked Tuesday, five months after he took his own life.

Investigators found a suicide note raising questions about his vaccination records.

It was last September when Koinis was found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

The Cook County Sheriff’s office said his suicide note indicates there might problem with records he kept regarding the vaccinations children received or did not receive at his office on West 95th Street in Evergreen Park.

“The note was very short. It was a note where he expressed a lot regret and the note was solely driven at the fact that he did things he regretted as far as the vaccinations,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. He added Koinis also expressed regret in doctoring records.

“He was incredibly regretful for what he did and it was the only thing he mentioned in the suicide note. It was this and only this,” Dart said.

Dart said that the note mentioned a window spanning about 10 years in which he either doctored records or gave fake vaccinations. Koinis was a big believer in homeopathic remedies. The note didn’t express regret in those beliefs but “regrets in what he did.”

Dart said that from a preliminary investigation, Koinis didn’t have financial problems or problems with his practice. But the suicide note detailing his vaccination practices gives him pause.

“Our thinking is that would mean that people who came there came with a purpose to get records phonied up, not have to take the vaccine and take the records to a school that would allow their child to be admitted even though their child never had a vaccine.”

As a result, the Cook County Sheriff’s office said confusion over the records is making it difficult to determine what children received vaccinations.

“It was a little bit cryptic but in some places, very straightforward in the conduct that he was regretting,” Dart said, who noted the vaccine situation was connected to his suicide.

“There seems to be an overarching depression that was driven by years of not vaccinating people properly. We were not able to nail it down any further,” Dart said. “That was the sole reason he gave for this.”

It was those clues that led his office to investigate the doctor, his records and other connections to his practice. He was a solo practitioner and didn’t work with any other doctor.

“He was an individual who practiced homeopathic medicine and was very much into holistic medicine and apparently a lot of individuals who are against vaccinations were attracted to him,” Dart added.

Investigators found the possibility that in some cases Dr. Koinis did not provide vaccinations at their parents request.

“Was this just the case where individuals who were against vaccinations came to him. He waived vaccinations and phonied up records or is this larger than that,” questioned Dart.

“We feel that there was people who came to him purposely to get the sign-off on vaccinations that they did not get,” Dart said, who added that those people who got a phony sign-off could face criminal charges, including forgery.

Tatiana Rudolph brought her two children to Dr. Koinis and she said both received their shots.

“He never hesitated to give vaccinations. He never hesitated at all,” Rudolph said. “If they needed them for school, they were getting them.”

Records indicated Koinis began practicing his medical career in 1991. People in the same office building told CBS 2, off camera, that he was quiet and at times odd.

Rudolph said he was a good doctor.

“Doctor Koinis was a very caring loving doctor,” she said. “He was very observant. He paid close attention. He did his best with everything.”

Some other parents were also quick to defend Dr. Koinis.

“He was the absolute best physician, honestly. When I first had my daughter, we went into our first appointment and I was terrified as a new mom and he made it a point to check not only on my daughter, but on me constantly,” said Dana Hamed, who has one child. “He would randomly text me and say hey, how’s Lilly doing? How are you guys doing? How are you keeping up on being a new mom? And I was absolutely blown away because I would have never in a million years imagined a doctor to do that.”

Hamed said she did not believe the claims about Koinis’ conduct.

“I’m upset because what is being said is not true and I’m in communication with a lot of his patients, as well as his nurses and they told me it’s not true. Everybody I’ve talked to has told me that,” she said. “Their kids are up to date on their vaccinations. Their kids received their vaccinations in front of them, as did I and it was proved in the emergency room that my daughter was up to date on her vaccinations.

But another parent, Mary Mullaney, said she’d had doubts about Koinis’ methods.

“My oldest son now is 13, and when we went for his 12-year vaccinations, something was going on with him. He was just very different. He wasn’t the same doctor that I had been taking my kids to,” Mullaney said.

She continued: “He had always been stuck on like the technology aspect of technology ruining children’s brains, but this visit, I mean I sat there for about 45 minutes and he kept going on and on and on. I was just there for the checkup and he actually ended up telling me that my son didn’t need the vaccines that the school had said, so I believed him and then my son’s school actually contacted me saying if he didn’t have these shots that he wouldn’t be able to come back, so when I went back to Dr. Koinis, he was kind of surprised. We got the shots. He gave it to him. I hope that’s what he gave him.”

Mullaney said she went back another time when her son became sick.

“Dr. Koinis kept telling me oh, it’s a virus, it’s a virus, but I knew something was wrong. I kept asking him to send us to a specialist or something and he wouldn’t. He told me it wasn’t necessary. He went back on the technology stuff,” she said. “So I actually ended up pulling my kids from the practice and found out my son actually ended up having like life-threatening food allergies.”

Dart said there’s no concrete evidence that he was actively misrepresenting to people that he was vaccinating when he wasn’t.

“But the substance of the note he left was very broad and very specific about vaccination issues and records being faked.” Dart said. “This seems to be almost exclusively at vaccinations  He had probably 2,500 patients.”

Dart said there is a test called the titer test that can determine whether or not an individual has had certain vaccinations. The parents of Doctor Koinis’ young patients are urged to the call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office if they have any concerns.

Authorities they also suggest calling a child’s current doctor.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted on six new charges of disorderly conduct, accusing him of filing false police reports claiming he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack last year.

A special Cook County grand jury handed down the new indictment on Tuesday, following a six-month investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb.

In a statement, Webb’s office said Smollett filed four separate false police reports claiming he was the victim of a hate crime.

“The grand jury’s investigation revealed that Jussie Smollett planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Department officers on multiple occasions, reporting a heinous hate crime that he, in fact, knew had not occurred,” Webb said in a statement.

BREAKING: Actor Jussie Smollett indicted by a grand jury. Special prosecutor Dan Webb has been digging into the case since August. More details to follow . @cbschicago https://t.co/1sBfbemQIM pic.twitter.com/f7QJnbRmMz

— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 11, 2020

Smollett’s legal team issued a statement Tuesday night claiming the new indictment was political in nature and an affront to justice.

“This indictment raises serious questions about the integrity of the investigation that led to the renewed charges against Mr. Smollett, not the least of which is the use of the same CPD detectives who were part of the original investigation into the attack on Mr. Smollett to conduct the current investigation, despite Mr. Smollett’s pending civil claims against the City of Chicago and CPD officers for malicious prosecution. One of the two witnesses who testified before the grand jury is the very same detective Mr. Smollett is currently suing for his role in the initial prosecution of him

“After more than five months of investigation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has not found any evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever related to the dismissal of the charges against Mr. Smollett. Rather, the charges were appropriately dismissed the first time because they were not supported by the evidence. The attempt to re-prosecute Mr. Smollett one year later on the eve of the Cook County State’s Attorney election is clearly all about politics not justice.”

It was unclear where Smollett was Tuesday night, but he is due in court on Feb. 24.

Cook County prosecutors last year dropped 16 disorderly conduct charges against Smollett, just over a month after Chicago police had accused him of orchestrating a hoax because he was upset with his salary on the TV show “Empire.”

Last August, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed Webb, a former federal prosecutor, as a special prosecutor in the Smollett case; tasking him to not only investigate Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the case, but to decide if Smollett should be further prosecuted for allegedly staging a fake hate crime against himself.

RELATED: How Will New Jussie Smollett Indictment Affect State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Reelection Bid?

In a statement on the new Smollett indictment, Webb wrote that his office “obtained sufficient factual evidence to determine that it disagrees with how the CCSAO resolved the Smollett case.”

RELATED: What Kind Of Penalties Could Jussie Smollett Face If Convicted?

Webb said the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office could not provide him with any evidence that the decision last year to dismiss the charges against Smollett was handled similar to other cases.

“The CCSAO has been unable to provide the [Office of the Special Prosecutor] with documentary evidence that shows that, in dismissing the Smollett case on the terms presented in court on March 26, 2019, the CCSAO relied on other dispositions of similar cases prior to the Smollett case that would justify this disposition,” Webb wrote.

In March 2019, Foxx said, “This case was handled like the other cases that have gone through our alternative prosecution model.”

Webb asked for examples of those similar cases, and so did CBS 2. We couldn’t find any, and neither could Webb.

However, Webb said his office has not reached any conclusions about whether anyone in Foxx’s office engaged in wrongdoing, and said that part of his investigation remains open.

RELATED: Catch Up On CBS 2’s Coverage Of The Smollett Case

Foxx is running for reelection this year, and in a statement Tuesday afternoon, her campaign questioned the timing of the indictment against Smollett.

“The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Jussie Smollett with multiple counts, and today the Special Prosecutor did the same. What’s questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the justice system, something voters in the era of Donald Trump should consider offensive,” the Foxx campaign wrote.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, had told police he was attacked as he was walking home around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2019. He claimed two masked men – one of them also wearing a red hat – shouted racist and homophobic slurs as they beat him, put a noose around his neck, and poured a chemical on him.

Police said, in reality, Smollett had paid those two men, Ola and Abel Osundairo, $3,500 by check to stage the attack. But weeks after his arrest, prosecutors dropped charges against him, after he agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bail and performed 16 hours of community service, but did not admit any guilt.

An attorney for the Osundairo brothers said they are aware of the new charges against Smollett and are “fully committed to the public knowing the truth about what occurred on January 29, 2019.”

“The Osundairo brothers will continue to cooperate with that process and they thank the Special Prosecutor’s office for their tireless work in seeing that justice was administered,” attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez stated in an email.

Toomin had earlier ruled that a special prosecutor was needed in the case, due to “unprecedented irregularities” in how Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx handled the case, specifically by handing it over to her second-in-command after announcing she had recused herself.

The judge said Foxx had no authority to appoint someone to take over the case for her, so every decision her office made — from charging Smollett, to indicting him, to ultimately dismissing the case — was invalid.

In ruling for a special prosecutor in the Smollett case, Toomin said Foxx had no authority to hand off the case to her top deputy after announcing she had recused herself from the case because of contact with a relative of Smollett’s before he was charged.

RELATED: More Than 2,000 Pages Released In Jussie Smollett Case File, Making All Documents Public | Jussie Smollett 911 Calls On Night Of Alleged Attack: ‘They Put Noose Around His Neck … That’s Really F—ed Up’

Toomin said Foxx effectively appointed First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats to a “fictitious” office to serve in her stead.

“Here, the ship of the State ventured from its protected harbor without the guiding hand of its captain. There was no master on the bridge to guide the ship as it floundered through unchartered waters,” Toomin wrote in his ruling.

As a result, Toomin said there effectively was no state’s attorney when Smollett was arrested, charged, indicted, arraigned, and finally when charges later were dropped. So all of those decisions were invalid.

“The unprecedented irregularities identified in this case warrants the appointment of independent counsel to restore the public’s confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system,” he wrote.

Smollett had been accused of paying brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo $3,500 to stage a homophobic and racist attack on him on Jan. 29.

The brothers’ attorneys have acknowledged they took part in a hoax, but said they have apologized for it, and only did so because Smollett paid them.

Police have said Smollett orchestrated the fake hate crime because he was upset with his salary on “Empire.”

RELATED: Osundairo Brothers Sue Jussie Smollett’s Attorneys, Mark Geragos And Tina Glandian, For Defamation | Kim Foxx’s Office Says Her Life Has Been Threatened In Wake Of Jussie Smollett Case Being Dropped

Investigators said the two brothers wore gloves during the staged attack, and did punch Smollett, but the scratches and bruises on Smollett’s face most likely were self-inflicted.

Smollett has denied all the allegations, and his attorneys have claimed he was exonerated when Foxx’s office dropped the charges.

Smollett also accused Chicago police of malicious prosecution, claiming he was the victim of “mass public ridicule and harm” after he was charged with orchestrating a fake hate crime against himself.  The city is suing Smollett to recover the $130,000 cost of the investigation.

Late Tuesday, the city Law Department issued a statement emphasizing that the city is still seeking to recover those funds.

“We look forward to reviewing the indictment and, as we have said previously, the City stands by our original complaint seeking to recover costs for Mr. Smollett’s false statements,” the statement said. “We again thank the Chicago Police Department detectives for their hard work on the original investigation.”

Foxx previously said she recused herself from the case after having conversations with one of Smollett’s relatives before he was charged with disorderly conduct.

RELATED: Documents Reveal Police Believed Jussie Smollett Deal Would Include Admission Of Guilt | Jussie Smollett To Face Lawsuit Demanding He Pay Chicago $130,000 For Alleged Hoax

After Magats took over the case, and prosecutors ended up dropping all charges a month after Smollett was arrested, after the “Empire” actor performed 16 hours of community service, and agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bail, but did not admit guilt.

Hundreds of emails and text messages later released by Foxx’s office showed two weeks before the charges were dropped, Foxx texted her staff, dismissing him as a “washed-up celeb who lied to cops,” and telling them he was being charged too harshly.

Critics have said had Foxx truly recused herself of the case, it would have been handed over to a state’s attorney from a different county.

What about double jeopardy?

Legal experts have said that’s not an issue because Smollett was never put on trial in the first place.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx refused on Tuesday to answer questions on about the new indictment against actor Jussie Smollett.

A special Cook County grand jury handed down the new indictment on Tuesday, following a six-month investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb. It charges Smollett with six new charges of disorderly conduct, accusing him of filing false police reports claiming he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack last year.

As CBS 2’s Jermont Terry reported, Foxx was invited to a forum for the Democratic candidates Tuesday night at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. She did not attend, but we should point out that she never accepted the invitation.

But Foxx’s opponents – former Ald. Bob Fioretti and former prosecutors Bill Conway and Donna More – surely took the Smollett indictment as an opportunity to speak to the small crowd – and more importantly to slam Foxx about how they say she tarnished the State’s Attorney’s office with the handling of the case.

“What it establishes is that Foxx was influenced to drop the charges by those who are politically powerful by celebrity, and that’s unacceptable,” More said. “Foxx we can’t have two justice systems in our county.”

“Ms. Foxx has repeatedly not told the truth throughout this entire investigation since her original claim she recused herself from this investigation and from this case,” Conway said. “So frankly, I don’t think we can trust anything Ms. Foxx is saying.”

Fioretti went further and called for Foxx’s resignation.

“I think we need to restore the integrity, transparency, and accountability of the office, and the only way that can be done is by Kim Foxx resigning now,” he said.

Foxx has no plans to step aside, and it is clear that the State’s Attorney’s race is only going to get heated as we are just over a month away from the primary election. That election is set for March 17.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Snow arrives by the evening commute on Wednesday and lingers into Thursday through about midday.

Temperatures drop to near 0 by Friday morning.

On Tuesday night, look for mostly clear conditions with a low of 20. On Wednesday, it will be mostly cloudy with snow by sunset – especially south of the city.

The evening commute will be impacted.

Snow continues overnight and through midday Thursday. Total accumulations of 1 to 3 inches expected, with isolated totals of 4 inches or more – mainly in southern counties.

(Credit: CBS 2)

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Northwest Indiana, as well as Will, Grundy, and Kankakee counties in Illinois, from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 9 p.m. Thursday.

(Credit: CBS 2)

CBS 2 Meteorologist Robb Ellis also expects Wind Chill Advisories to be a possibility by Thursday, but likely for outlying counties.

Behind the snow, temperatures will stay in the 10s for most of Thursday with gusty winds.

(Credit: CBS 2)

Lows will drop to near 0 by Friday morning. Wind chills could be -10 or lower.

(Credit: CBS 2)

Friday will be in the mid-10s, but the mid-30s return the next day.