CHICAGO (CBS) — An off-duty Chicago police officer was injured Saturday afternoon when Metra train hit an unmarked CPD vehicle at a crossing in Elmwood Park . Police and Metra officials said an outbound Milwaukee District West Line train hit the officer’s unmarked car in the 7700 block of West Grand Avenue around 5:10 p.m. The officer was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Metra said eyewitnesses told them the lights and gates at the crossing were functioning at the time of the collision, but the incident remains under investigation ..read more

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS)– A fired destroyed a motel in Melrose Park and injured a woman early Monday morning. The call for the fire came at 1:30 a.m., according to the Melrose Park Fire Department. Tenants at the O’Hare Kitchenette Motel, located on Mannheim Road, rushed to help a woman they said was on fire. “Her hair was on fire, so my son put it out,” Ernestine Dinkins said. Flames were seen shooting from the building, and video shows the second floor collapsed. Another tenant told CBS 2 he heard crackling early Monday morning and went to check on the noise. He went to help the resident who ..read more

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) — Melrose Park Mayor Ronald M. Serpico was recorded using profanity and a racial slur as he raised his voice at a resident at a village meeting last week. Late Thursday, Mayor Serpico said he was sorry. But the man who was the target of that tirade was not buying it. Inside the Melrose Park Civic Center, audio recordings captured Serpico on the profane rant. “You’re really reaching me, so do me a f***ing favor and sit down and shut the f**k up,” Serpico tells the man. “How’s that, you little f***ing prick?” Serpico goes on to call the man a “jagoff.” Mike Cozzi was the ..read more

CHICAGO (CBS) — A person was struck by a train on the Union Pacific West Line near Melrose Park Friday night, Metra officials confirm. Metra Alert UP-W – Track 1 has been released for train movement. Inbound and outbound trains extensive delays, #509 remains halted — Metra UP-W (@metraUPW) January 2, 2021 Officials said train #509 struck a person around 5:10 p.m. but did not have any information about the condition of the victim or circumstance of the incident shortly before 8 p.m. As of 7 p.m. inbound and outbound trains were moving again but with extensive delays. Also From CBS Chica ..read more

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) — Sylvester Dockens, an elderly man reported missing from Melrose Park, has been found. Authorities had issued an Endangered Missing Person Advisory for Dockens, 83, on Sunday after he was reported missing from 1800 Riverwoods Dr. in Melrose Park, because he has that placed him in danger. Monday morning, police announced Dockens had been located, but no further information was provided. Also From CBS Chicago: Calls Indicate Officers Responding To Domestic Call At Former Police Supt. Eddie Johnson’s House Knew What They Were Going Into The Faces Of COVID-19 In Chicago ..read more

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) — Video obtained exclusively by CBS 2 shows accused Wicker Park Walgreens killer Sincere Williams breaking into a gun shop months before the attack, the owner says. The store owner provided the video, and spoke at length to CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar. The owner of Suburban Sporting Goods Guns & Ammo in Melrose Park said his gun shop was burglarized in May. He said Williams tried stealing 14 handguns. RELATED: Employee Fatally Stabbed At Wicker Park Walgreens | Sincere Williams, 18, Charged With Stabbing Employee At Wicker Park Walgreens To Death Williams, now 18, was a ..read more

CHICAGO (CBS) — Melrose Park Officer Joseph Capello, a veteran officer and member of a blue bloods family, has died in the line of duty from COVID-19. Friday there was a huge show of support for his family in the western suburbs. Melrose Park’s mayor is calling Capello a family man and a dedicated cop, and as the community pauses to remember the hero, the mayor says practicing social distancing is another way to honor him. While practicing social distancing, the Melrose Park community slowly drove by a fallen officer Joseph Capello’s house Friday. Each vehicle was filled with families off ..read more

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) — The transformation of Chicago’s McCormick Place is a stark reminder of the strain on hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 500 beds are on standby at the sprawling convention center to treat mild cases of coronavirus. Now, the work has moved on to transforming buildings that had once been hospitals into treatment center. CBS 2’s Steven Graves got an inside look Sunday at how that is coming together in Melrose Park. Contractors packed the old Westlake Hospital, wearing masks. It is a race against time to assess the mechanics of a building that will provid ..read more

CHICAGO (CBS) — Another area hospital will find a new purpose as a center to treat COVID-19 patients. With cases of the coronavirus soaring, Chicago area hospitals are doing all they can to hang on. But support sites are about to make  a huge difference. They’re not hospitals, but some patients can be treated at them. And now a new site is in the works. Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park joins Metro South Medical Center in Blue Island, Sherman Hospital in Elgin, and McCormick Place. CBS 2’s Mugo Odigwe has the story. Westlake Hospital is now being prepped to become an alternate treatment s ..read more

CHICAGO (CBS) — A Melrose Park police officer was injured Sunday morning, when a driver rear-ended his squad car. The officer was helping a disabled vehicle near 38th and North avenues around 3 a.m., when another vehicle rear ended the his police SUV, according to Melrose Park spokesman Gary Mack. (Credit: CBS) The officer was inside his squad car at the time. He was treated and released from Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and was at home recovering Sunday evening. He had a broken leg. The driver who rear-ended the officer was charged with driving under the influence. He was also ..read more