CHICAGO (CBS) — Park Ridge was not the only suburb where a thief broke open blue mailboxes a few weeks ago. CBS 2 discovered it also happened in three other suburbs—from the south to the north—all over the course of a few days. Morning Insider Tim McNicholas shows us how it starts as theft and turns into fraud. The blue boxes outside the Park Ridge post office are still out of service, nearly a month after someone pried them open in the night and stole everything inside, including the $500 check Wilbur Mills mailed to his insurance company. “I’m trying to figure out who’s accountable,” Mills s ..read more

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) — Scattered storms hit the area again on Sunday, and took a strong turn in the northwest suburbs. In Arlington Heights, the storms left a big mess. A big tree limb fell on a home and some cars, and other tree limbs were just thrown onto the ground. Homeowner Dominic Magno said the storm was fast and fierce. “Rain was really coming down,” he said. “I was inside, and all of a sudden, we heard a really big crash, looked outside, and saw this.” In nearby Mount Prospect, smoke rose after a power line fell on a tree. Meanwhile, winds were so strong that a construction c ..read more

CHICAGO (CBS) — A malfunction was to blame for the sound of emergency warning sirens on Thursday in several northwest suburbs. The National Weather Service reported that the sirens activated in the Hoffman Estates area on Thursday afternoon. They were being tested and inadvertently went off, and should be disregarded, the NWS said. We've received word of tornado sirens activated in the Hoffman Estates area. They were being tested and the sirens were inadvertently set off. Please disregard. The main thunderstorm threats at this time are lightning strikes and very heavy downpours. #ilwx https ..read more

(CBS) — The violent storms overnight hit several other suburbs hard, outside the area of the Naperville tornado. In northwest suburban Mount Prospect, a car stalled in rising flood waters, near Algonquin Road and Route 83. A man carried some people on his back to safety to a nearby store. In Downers Grove, trees were on top of cars and pieces of homes were scattered everywhere. One resident said she couldn’t believe how quickly to storm passed through the area. “We ran to the bathtub, it got really loud, but it was very quick,” said Carrie Osslund. ” It was over in like, 10 seconds. Felt like ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — A person crossing busy Elmhurst Road in a wheelchair was struck and by a car and seriously injured in a hit-and-run Wednesday in Mount Prospect. At 1:56 p.m., Mount Prospect police were called to Elmhurst Road (Route 83) south of Huntington Commons Road. Witnesses said a black Chevrolet hit the person in the wheelchair and did not stop. The vehicle had damage to its front end and windshield as it fled, police said. The victim of the hit-and-run was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with serious injuries, police said. Video showed the banged ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — A person crossing busy Elmhurst Road in a wheelchair was struck and by a car and seriously injured in a hit-and-run Wednesday in Mount Prospect. At 1:56 p.m., Mount Prospect police were called to Elmhurst Road (Route 83) south of Huntington Commons Road. Witnesses said a black Chevrolet hit the person in the wheelchair and did not stop. The vehicle had damage to its front end and windshield as it fled, police said. The victim of the hit-and-run was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with serious injuries, police said. Video showed the banged ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — Three people were killed Sunday morning in a rollover crash on Rand Road in northwest suburban Mount Prospect. At 7:44 a.m., Mount Prospect police were called for a two-vehicle rollover crash at Rand and Mount Prospect roads. The crash involved a white Honda sedan with heavy damage and a gold Ford sport-utility vehicle with heavy front-end damage hat had rolled over onto its roof. Police believe the Honda was headed south from the exit of Mount Prospect Plaza when the gold Ford which was headed northwest on Rand Road from Central Road, entered the intersection and ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — In a year where so many have lost so much, being able to pay your bills and have a warm meal means even more. A family-owned Mount Prospect restaurant considers itself lucky to pay its own bills and go on providing meals, so as CBS 2’s Marie Saavedra reported Wednesday night, that restaurant is giving back. In this pandemic, we’re used to seeing lines outside businesses trying to control the capacity. But that’s not the full story behind the line outside Qulinarnia Modern Polish Cuisine, in the Mount Prospect Commons shopping center at 1730 W. Golf Rd. in the north ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — Two crashes happened in succession in Mount Prospect Sunday morning, and one of them left a police officer injured. The second accident that left the officer injured happened around 8 a.m. Police were already blocking eastbound traffic after an accident at Dempster Street and Algonquin Road when a driver hit the officer’s sport-utility vehicle. The driver said the sun was in his eyes and he did not see the officer’s vehicle. The officer was taken to an area hospital. It was not known late Sunday how severely the officer was hurt.   ..read more

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) — Indoor dining is still happening despite Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent ban, and that is putting all restaurants in a tough spot. One owner in Mount Prospect says she is feeling bullied for following the rules. It’s has been a week and a day since the start of the ban on indoor dining for suburban Cook County. It is just as sticky of an issue now as it was then with businesses figuring out how to keep customers happy, including ones who still want to eat inside. What the staff at Mt. Prospect’s Qulinarnia know is mouthwatering Polish food, but knowing how to se ..read more