Category: CNN Regional

By Megan De Mar

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A South Holland woman said she was left high and dry after paying thousands of dollars to have her swimming pool fixed, only for the contractor to vanish.

Venus Scott is one of more than a dozen homeowners who said they were taken by the same man using different names. The pattern goes back more than a decade.

Scott said she’s happy with her backyard pool oasis now, but it took more than a year to be able to swim in it.

“All of this had to be redone. It’s a whole brand hew liner that was put in,” she said.

When she bought the house and pool as is, she knew she’d have to put some money in to restore it.

She brought in two companies for quotes and “Sunlife Swimming Pool Care” based in Joliet came in way below the competitor.

A man named Brian McIntosh came to her South Holland home last year, collected a $1,000 deposit, and said his crew would be back soon to start the work.

But then, the crew missed two appointments in a row. In the meantime, she was required to pay more.

The next time, McIntosh came with several bottles of chlorine.

“They poured maybe about six bottles of chlorine for algae inside the pool, and left it all just sitting right here. We had to clean it up,” Scott said.

McIntosh said he’d be back to start the job.

“Of course, that never happened. I never saw them again,” Scott said.

She sent them a total of $5,425, and the only work they did was pour chlorine into the pool.

After nearly a year of trying to get a refund, Scott ended up paying another company $11,000 to actually finish the job, and she learned that the cheap “liner patching” that SunLife promised her wasn’t even possible.

“So, it was no way they could have fixed it for that amount. So, I feel like it was a scam all along,” Scott said.

She went online and saw review after review from homeowners who said they were also left high and dry.

It turned out the man who came to her house wasn’t Brian McIntosh, it was a man named David Sroge, and CBS News Chicago knows his name well.

He’s the name-changing contractor who was at the center of Investigator Dave Savini’s story in 2015.

Sroge was sent to prison for a year in 2016 for home repair fraud in Cook County.

Before that, Sroge had a 2012 conviction in Indiana where police said he took $9,000 from a senior citizen for work he did not do.

In May 2026, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Will County. He also has an active warrant in Kane County as well as countless civil cases against him in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

“How was it possible for this to continue to go on?” Scott said.

Sroge also is named in at least nine complaints submitted to the Illinois Attorney General’s office over the last few years, and each one recounts the same story – thousands of dollars paid and no services rendered before Sroge disappeared.

And as police are currently searching for Sroge, CBS News Chicago hasn’t been able to find him either.

Scott said Sroge contacted her using four different phone numbers, but CBS News Chicago could not reach him at any of those numbers.

In response to an email to SunLife, someone claiming to be Susan Hanover assured “a full resolution.” She even provided another email address and phone number to try, but CBS News Chicago got no response.

As a result of reaching out, Scott said someone from SunLife contacted her offering a refund, but then ghosted her again.

She said she’s not holding her breath for a refund, but she’s speaking out for another reason.

“If I can stop another family from going through that, that would be great,” she said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Megan De Mar

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A South Holland woman said she was left high and dry after paying thousands of dollars to have her swimming pool fixed, only for the contractor to vanish.

Venus Scott is one of more than a dozen homeowners who said they were taken by the same man using different names. The pattern goes back more than a decade.

Scott said she’s happy with her backyard pool oasis now, but it took more than a year to be able to swim in it.

“All of this had to be redone. It’s a whole brand hew liner that was put in,” she said.

When she bought the house and pool as is, she knew she’d have to put some money in to restore it.

She brought in two companies for quotes and “Sunlife Swimming Pool Care” based in Joliet came in way below the competitor.

A man named Brian McIntosh came to her South Holland home last year, collected a $1,000 deposit, and said his crew would be back soon to start the work.

But then, the crew missed two appointments in a row. In the meantime, she was required to pay more.

The next time, McIntosh came with several bottles of chlorine.

“They poured maybe about six bottles of chlorine for algae inside the pool, and left it all just sitting right here. We had to clean it up,” Scott said.

McIntosh said he’d be back to start the job.

“Of course, that never happened. I never saw them again,” Scott said.

She sent them a total of $5,425, and the only work they did was pour chlorine into the pool.

After nearly a year of trying to get a refund, Scott ended up paying another company $11,000 to actually finish the job, and she learned that the cheap “liner patching” that SunLife promised her wasn’t even possible.

“So, it was no way they could have fixed it for that amount. So, I feel like it was a scam all along,” Scott said.

She went online and saw review after review from homeowners who said they were also left high and dry.

It turned out the man who came to her house wasn’t Brian McIntosh, it was a man named David Sroge, and CBS News Chicago knows his name well.

He’s the name-changing contractor who was at the center of Investigator Dave Savini’s story in 2015.

Sroge was sent to prison for a year in 2016 for home repair fraud in Cook County.

Before that, Sroge had a 2012 conviction in Indiana where police said he took $9,000 from a senior citizen for work he did not do.

In May 2026, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Will County. He also has an active warrant in Kane County as well as countless civil cases against him in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

“How was it possible for this to continue to go on?” Scott said.

Sroge also is named in at least nine complaints submitted to the Illinois Attorney General’s office over the last few years, and each one recounts the same story – thousands of dollars paid and no services rendered before Sroge disappeared.

And as police are currently searching for Sroge, CBS News Chicago hasn’t been able to find him either.

Scott said Sroge contacted her using four different phone numbers, but CBS News Chicago could not reach him at any of those numbers.

In response to an email to SunLife, someone claiming to be Susan Hanover assured “a full resolution.” She even provided another email address and phone number to try, but CBS News Chicago got no response.

As a result of reaching out, Scott said someone from SunLife contacted her offering a refund, but then ghosted her again.

She said she’s not holding her breath for a refund, but she’s speaking out for another reason.

“If I can stop another family from going through that, that would be great,” she said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Nick Sloan

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    JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map sued Secretary of State Denny Hoskins on late Tuesday night, hours after he rejected their referendum petition as unconstitutional.

Richard von Glahn, who is the executive director of People Not Politicians, filed the lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit asks a judge to reverse Hoskins’ decision, declare the referendum legally sufficient and block the state from using the new congressional districts while the case is pending.

Hoskins announced earlier Tuesday that the referendum was insufficient because, in his view, Missouri’s constitution does not allow voters to challenge congressional redistricting through the referendum process.

He said the number of signatures, which People Not Politicians estimated at 300,000, submitted was irrelevant.

“At issue is not the number of signatures turned into the challenge the new congressional map, but the fact that the referendum itself is null and void by virtue of the fact that it is unconstitutional,” Hoskins said. “Therefore, House Bill 1, the Missouri First Map, continues to be the law of the land.”

Hoskins said he acted on legal advice from Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit argues Missouri’s constitution allows referendums on any law except emergency legislation and certain appropriations bills.

It contends House Bill 1, which is the ‘Missouri First’ congressional map signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in 2025, does not fall under those exceptions.

It also makes reference of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Moore v. Harper, arguing congressional redistricting remains subject to a state’s normal lawmaking process, including referendums where state law allows.

The new congressional map, which was in place for Tuesday’s primary, divided Kansas City into three separate districts.

Should the map be overturned, thousands of voters in the state could be voting in a different district in November’s general election.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Charlie De Mar

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A 61-year-old Chicago nurse has filed a lawsuit against two private security companies, after she said she was seriously hurt by a fare dodger at a CTA station on her way to work last year.

Surveillance video shows the nurse on her bike approaching accessible fare gate at the 95th Street terminal on the Red Line last summer. Seconds later, as a man tried to walk through the gate without paying, she started to close the gate and he forced it open, knocking her to the ground.

“He bullrushes her, knocks her to the ground, breaks her leg,” said the nurse’s attorney, Ken Hoffman.

Now, the nurse is suing Action K-9 Security Inc. and First American Security Inc. Hoffman claims the two private security companies contracted by the CTA to deter fare evasion and monitor station entrances failed to do their jobs.

“What the video shows is four people not paying attention, not doing their job,” he said. “To think we’re paying a private security close to $50 million to not do their job was really disappointing.”

In a court filing, attorneys for the security companies accused the injured nurse of assault and battery when she tried closing the gate on the fare evader, writing that she “took the law into her own hands in attempting to physically prevent entry onto the CTA by the tailgating assailant in contravention of her own safety.”

Emails provided to CBS News Chicago showed the nurse warned the CTA years ago of the dangers gate jumpers posed to paying customers.

“Chicagoans should be upset. I just want the private security companies to do their job they’re being paid to do,” Hoffman said.

The CTA was originally named as a defendant in the complaint but was later dismissed under statutory immunity. The fare dodger from the video has not been identified.

A spokesperson for Action K-9 said the company denies the allegations against them:

“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we categorically deny the allegations and provide that the allegations being reported do not accurately represent all of the facts. We have denied the allegations, continue to do so and will defend the allegations in court. Every day, millions of citizens travel safely through the City of Chicago, in large part due to the security we provide.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Charlie De Mar

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A 61-year-old Chicago nurse has filed a lawsuit against two private security companies, after she said she was seriously hurt by a fare dodger at a CTA station on her way to work last year.

Surveillance video shows the nurse on her bike approaching accessible fare gate at the 95th Street terminal on the Red Line last summer. Seconds later, as a man tried to walk through the gate without paying, she started to close the gate and he forced it open, knocking her to the ground.

“He bullrushes her, knocks her to the ground, breaks her leg,” said the nurse’s attorney, Ken Hoffman.

Now, the nurse is suing Action K-9 Security Inc. and First American Security Inc. Hoffman claims the two private security companies contracted by the CTA to deter fare evasion and monitor station entrances failed to do their jobs.

“What the video shows is four people not paying attention, not doing their job,” he said. “To think we’re paying a private security close to $50 million to not do their job was really disappointing.”

In a court filing, attorneys for the security companies accused the injured nurse of assault and battery when she tried closing the gate on the fare evader, writing that she “took the law into her own hands in attempting to physically prevent entry onto the CTA by the tailgating assailant in contravention of her own safety.”

Emails provided to CBS News Chicago showed the nurse warned the CTA years ago of the dangers gate jumpers posed to paying customers.

“Chicagoans should be upset. I just want the private security companies to do their job they’re being paid to do,” Hoffman said.

The CTA was originally named as a defendant in the complaint but was later dismissed under statutory immunity. The fare dodger from the video has not been identified.

A spokesperson for Action K-9 said the company denies the allegations against them:

“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we categorically deny the allegations and provide that the allegations being reported do not accurately represent all of the facts. We have denied the allegations, continue to do so and will defend the allegations in court. Every day, millions of citizens travel safely through the City of Chicago, in large part due to the security we provide.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By John Domen

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    STEVENSVILLE, Maryland (WTOP) — The owner of a popular bagel shop on Maryland’s Kent Island isn’t minding the store right now. That’s because of his other job — with the Minnesota Vikings.

Andrew DePaola founded DePaola’s Bagel and Brunch about three and a half years ago in Stevensville.

DePaola is from northern Baltimore County, but said his time at Rutgers University taught him about good bagels.

“Just as a kid growing up, I loved bagels. I loved eating them right out of the bag,” he said. “And then going up to New Jersey, spending years up there, I think kind of refined my palate a little bit with sandwiches and cream cheeses and spreads and things of that such.”

His experiences visiting family on Kent Island, which he now calls home, also taught him that good bagels and cream cheese were missing there.

“My wife and I would come back to Maryland in the offseason, visit her sister and her husband in Kent Island, and we’d go out, have a good time, wake up the next morning, and just be like, ‘I always wish there was a place to grab like a bagel sandwich,’” DePaola said.

So he opened one.

When DePaola is not in town, his parents, who used to run a restaurant in Baltimore County, supervise the business.

“Honestly, I saw an opportunity, and I was hoping it would do well,” he said.

Occasionally, he’ll bring samples to his teammates and coaches in Minnesota. Their feedback is helpful, he said, and sometimes it shows up on the menu.

“Couple ideas that actually come from some of the guys on the team, some players, some coaches, just throwing in their input, like, ‘Hey, you should really try this in one of your cream cheese spreads. Or I wonder if this would go good as a bagel,’” DePaola said.

DePaola can also boast of being the only long snapper in NFL history to be picked for the Pro Bowl four seasons straight, according to the Vikings.

At this point, DePaola is less the baker and more the quality control guy. He credits an expert he hired as the one who really gets her hands in the dough. But business is going well enough that a second store is at least something he and his family are willing to think about.

“I don’t know if we’ll open up another one,” he said. “That would be great if we could figure that out. But if not, I’m having a great time with the one location.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.