Teen Playing With Lighter Starts Elgin Basement Fire
A teenager playing with a lighter in bed caused a basement fire in a northwest suburban Elgin home Monday night, injuring one man and causing about $10,000 in damage to the house.
Watch CBS News
A teenager playing with a lighter in bed caused a basement fire in a northwest suburban Elgin home Monday night, injuring one man and causing about $10,000 in damage to the house.
During the class, methanol was being burned inside a container, which shattered, causing the chemical to spill, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.
The Red Cross says last Sunday's tornadoes illustrate how disasters can devastate communities, but it says the biggest threat to Chicago area families isn't severe weather, but fires.
No one was hurt in a hard-fought fire overnight in Lyons, but it appears the blaze did destroy one of the town's landmarks.
Two people were displaced by a vacant building fire Saturday morning that spread to a nearby home in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.
No one was home when a fire Monday morning killed several cats and did $100,000 to a home in southwest suburban Oswego.
Initial dispatch reports -- later determined to be unfounded -- said there might be people trapped on the first floor of the building.
The roof of the house was starting to collapse when the first fire engine arrived within 4-5 minutes of being called.
fire was reported at a church in the Hermosa neighborhood on the Northwest Side early Saturday.
Two elderly women, one bound to a wheelchair, lived at the home. Neighbors speculated that the third fire victim may have been a caretaker.
The manager of the fast-food restaurant at 3441 S. Harlem in Berwyn called 911 a few minutes after 8 a.m. to report smoke coming from the ceiling.
Chocolate production is under way again at the Blommer Chocolate Company on Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at the West Town factory early Tuesday.
Firefighters found the bodies of three people inside, all on the first floor. Two of the victims were so badly burned, it was impossible to tell their age or gender.
The two, whose ages were not immediately known, were transported from the blaze to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in serious condition.
About 5:20 a.m., four fire engines responded to the blaze at 600 W. Kinzie St., when one of the 5-story factory's chocolate roasters caught fire.
A police officer patrolling in Midtown on Monday saw the charred, metal shell left at the dead-end of a block of vacant, burned-out homes and overgrown, weedy lots in Gary.
An elderly woman was killed and her husband and grandson suffered severe burns when a fire broke out early Sunday morning in their home in Glen Park, Ind.
A woman suffered smoke inhalation after a fire Sunday in the West Ridge neighborhood on the North Side.
Two people were killed and 12 people were injured during shootings across the city since Friday afternoon.
A Kenosha man who reportedly was driving under the influence has been identified as the driver in Friday's crash in Hainesville that left a home destroyed by fire,
A fire overnight in a three-story apartment building on Lynn Road in unincorporated DuPage County has displaced 24 families.
Flames were shooting out the roof of a building in the 3300 block of North Clark Street, south of Wrigley Field and close to the CTA railroad tracks.
The family-owned business at 2455 N. Sheffield Av. was reduced to rubble in an extra-alarm blaze in May 2012. A brand new building opened last week at the site of the old store.
The Jeep hit a gas meter at the building, and ruptured a gas line, causing an explosion that engulfed the building in flames.
A fire overnight at an oil refinery in southwest suburban Lemont could affect prices at the pump in Chicago.
A man was shot and critically injured in a robbery and shooting in the Loop on Friday night.
With oil markets paralyzed by the U.S.-Iran war, the Trump administration says it could escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz — a massive undertaking that experts say could already be in the preparatory stages.
Some musical artists are taking a step back into the past, preserving wartime letters soldiers wrote to loved ones for a recording project in celebration of the nation's 250th birthday.
Tenants at a South Loop luxury high-rise that has been plagued with problems like broken elevators are vowing to fight five-day eviction notices.
Indiana state officials on Friday continued to survey tornado damage in Lake Village, after two people were killed in Tuesday's storms, though strong winds made cleanup efforts that much more difficult.
With oil markets paralyzed by the U.S.-Iran war, the Trump administration says it could escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz — a massive undertaking that experts say could already be in the preparatory stages.
A key City Council committee on Friday backed a $27 million settlement with the family of a mother of six killed in a crash during a high-speed police chase in 2017.
A federal judge has quashed a pair of grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board as part of a criminal probe by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine briefed on Operation Epic Fury in Iran Friday.
The Senate failed for a fourth time to advance a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, with no deal in sight.
Tenants at a South Loop luxury high-rise that has been plagued with problems like broken elevators are vowing to fight five-day eviction notices.
It's become an annual March Madness tradition at CBS Chicago, pitting our city's best eateries in direct competition in a foodie bracket challenge. We did pizza, we've done Italian beef, we've done Chicago dogs. This year, we're taking flight with wings.
For Cook County residents hoping to lower their property tax bills, applications are open for exemptions.
Officials in the north Chicago suburb of Wilmette issued a warning Tuesday about scammers who are impersonating representatives of village departments.
The war with Iran is causing gas prices to surge, with motorists in Chicago and around the country guaranteed to feel the impact at the pump Monday morning.
A new Iowa law bans local nondiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity after the state became the first in the U.S. to roll back its civil rights code last year.
Food containing norovirus may smell and taste normal but still cause serious illness if consumed, FDA warns.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment from biotherapeutics company CSL for a new plasma therapy manufacturing plant in Kanakee.
When a doctor was told there was no cure for his daughter's condition, he was motivated to transform not only her health, but the lives of thousands of others.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
Despite a rash of restaurant closures, veterans of the plant-based food business pushed back against prophecies of doom — and in one case argued that such closures notwithstanding, plant-based eating is only growing.
Two popular Chicago craft breweries – Half Acre Beer Co. and Maplewood Brewery & Distillery – announced on Tuesday they are merging to create a new "premier Chicago beverage company."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment from biotherapeutics company CSL for a new plasma therapy manufacturing plant in Kanakee.
Capital One is laying off more than 1,100 workers at the former Discover headquarters in north suburban Riverwoods.
A new development at the southeast corner of Chicago's East Lakeview community would clear away a medical office building and replace it with a residential high-rise.
Comedy power couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are starring in the Goodman Theatre's new musical coming this summer.
A play inspired by the story of Emmett Till has now been extended twice past its initial run at Collaboraction Theatre in Humboldt Park.
Jennifer Runyon, a Chicago native who became famous as an actress appearing in "Ghostbusters" and "Charles in Charge," died last week.
A woman was arrested on Sunday for firing multiple shots at the Beverly Hills home of Rihanna, Los Angeles Police Department officials say.
Actor and filmmaker Bruce Campbell told fans that he is in treatment for cancer and will cancel some upcoming public appearances.
Trusty is looking for a forever home.
A man was shot a critically injured in a robbery and shooting at a 7-Eleven in the Loop on Friday night.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
In these high-tech days, letter writing seems to be a lost art relegated to the past. Some musical artists are taking a step back into the past, preserving wartime letters soldiers wrote to loved ones for a recording project in celebration of the nation's 250th birthday. Words written long ago find a new voice as they're set to music.
Chicago has a weekend full of St. Patrick's Day parades and citywide celebrations. Here's what you need to know.
A man was shot and critically injured in a robbery and shooting in the Loop on Friday night.
Southwest Airlines announced Friday that it will stop operating flights out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport in June.
Strong wind gusts tore through the Chicago area on Friday, knocking out power to thousands, taking down trees, and even tearing the roof off of a north suburban school.
The man killed in Aroma Park after an EF-3 tornado touched down in Kankakee County on Tuesday has been identified.
Attorneys for the family of a woman killed in a crash during a high-speed police chase in 2017 say officers involved failed to activate their body cameras or turned them off during the pursuit.
A new specialized unit is being created to prosecute domestic violence homicides in Cook County, as these killings surged 15% last year, even as overall violent crime declined across Chicago.
After a year of water bill complaints in Lisle, Illinois, the village board is officially moving forward with a plan to review those issues and possibly have the village take over for the private utility that supplies water to part of the village.
Two separate child abuse cases in Lake County, Illinois, are prompting questions about the roles schools play in identifying warning signs and alerting authorities.
A Chicago senior citizen said his phone has been ringing off the hook with hundreds of unwanted spam calls that have made his beloved landline virtually unusable. New efforts in Springfield could bring real relief.
Connor Bedard scored off a rebound off a post at 3:57 of overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles said there was a common theme to the free agents they are bringing in this offseason, saying the team "wanted to get faster, more explosive" with guys that are "passionate about football."
Northwestern now has a seven-game winning streak against the Hoosiers.
Chicago's Jalen Smith converted two free throws with 1.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game into OT, and Tre Jones contributed 22 points for the Bulls
The Detroit Lions are losing another player, this time it's wide receiver Kalif Raymond, who is reportedly heading to the Chicago Bears.
The attacker rammed a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and opened fire, but he was the only one killed, law enforcement officials said.
A new specialized unit is being created to prosecute domestic violence homicides in Cook County, as these killings surged 15% last year, even as overall violent crime declined across Chicago.
A man was shot and killed on the street in the midday hours Wednesday in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood.
Park rangers cited the four visitors, all from Illinois, for collecting and defacing park resources.
A woman has been charged in a road rage shooting that left someone injured this past weekend on the Dan Ryan Expressway.