Category: CNN Regional

WBBM

By Adam Harrington, Jessica Popowcer

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A nurse was expected back in court on Tuesday after she was charged with giving fake Ozempic to patients in Chicago.

Prosecutors said Sharon Charitine Sackman, 52, gave the counterfeit weight loss drugs to three people in Chicago in 2023.

The drugs were labeled as Ozempic, but were not manufactured by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, and did not even contain semaglutide, the active ingredient in the weight loss drug, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, prosecutors Sackman was a registered professional nurse, but did not have a license to prescribe, administer, dispense, or sell Ozempic.

Sackman previously pleaded not guilty to one count of distributing misbranded drugs and three counts of dispensing counterfeit drugs, prosecutors said. Each count could result in a year in federal prison upon conviction.

Sackman’s status hearing is set for 11 a.m. at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

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.

WBBM

By Dave Savini

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The civil rights trial of a wrongful Chicago police raid on an innocent family began on Monday.

The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said police pointed guns at them. It’s a case CBS Chicago first exposed years ago.

The botched raid happened back in 2018. The family said they’ve been living with trauma from it ever since. On Monday in a packed courtroom, they sat behind the officers involved as a jury was selected.

Attorney: “How did you feel when all this happened?

Lakai’ya: Scared.

Attorney: Why were you scared?

Lakai’ya: Because I didn’t know what was going on.”

Lakai’ya Booth and her siblings answered questions during a pre-trial deposition as part of their federal civil rights lawsuit against the city. She was just four years old when CPD officers wrongly raided her family’s home.

She’s one of dozens of children documented over the last eight years who said police pointed guns at them during similar raids.

Attorney: What do you remember happening that day?

La’niya: A big boom sound.

Her older sister, Laniya, was 11 at the time of the raid.

“A lot of like five to 10 police officers rushing in with these big guns,” she said.

One after another, they relived that moment in 2018 when officers burst into their family’s home in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Attorney: Why do you think you felt afraid when the guns were pointed at you?

E’Monie: Because there’s weapons pointed at a 13-year-old.

Now, over seven years after the raid, they will testify against the officers involved, accusing them of excessive force, pointing guns at them, and leaving them traumatized.

Their mother and grandmother were also there when police raided the home looking for a gang member and a handgun, but an investigation by CBS News Chicago found they were in the wrong house.

They took the word of a paid informant and didn’t properly vet the information.

“I’m like, oh my god. Please don’t let him shoot my baby,” Cynthia Eason said in 2018.

The CBS News Chicago investigators have spent years exposing how innocent people are treated by officers during these raids, especially children.

Some of the children from other wrongful raid cases are also expected to testify as part of the trial. Attorneys for the family will work to prove that CPD engages in a pattern of pointing guns and using excessive force against children.

“What are you doing, pointing guns at innocent young children? Wake up,” said Attorney Al Hofeld Jr.

Hofeld is the family’s attorney and said the jury will also hear the traumatic impact on the adults who were in the home at the time of the raid, like Eason, the children’s grandmother, who was in her underwear when officers burst into the home.

Eason said police forced her outside in a state of undress in front of her neighbors.

“When I was sitting there, one officer was laughing at me,” she said.

She said she kept asking for clothes but was denied.

“I looked at him, he’s laughing, and imagine how that feels,” she said.

Data shows the cities already spent $600,000 on legal fees for private law firms to defend the officers involved, and that number is expected to increase as the trial is expected to last a month.

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 Dave Savini

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The civil rights trial of a wrongful Chicago police raid on an innocent family began on Monday.

The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said police pointed guns at them. It’s a case CBS Chicago first exposed years ago.

The botched raid happened back in 2018. The family said they’ve been living with trauma from it ever since. On Monday in a packed courtroom, they sat behind the officers involved as a jury was selected.

Attorney: “How did you feel when all this happened?

Lakai’ya: Scared.

Attorney: Why were you scared?

Lakai’ya: Because I didn’t know what was going on.”

Lakai’ya Booth and her siblings answered questions during a pre-trial deposition as part of their federal civil rights lawsuit against the city. She was just four years old when CPD officers wrongly raided her family’s home.

She’s one of dozens of children documented over the last eight years who said police pointed guns at them during similar raids.

Attorney: What do you remember happening that day?

La’niya: A big boom sound.

Her older sister, Laniya, was 11 at the time of the raid.

“A lot of like five to 10 police officers rushing in with these big guns,” she said.

One after another, they relived that moment in 2018 when officers burst into their family’s home in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Attorney: Why do you think you felt afraid when the guns were pointed at you?

E’Monie: Because there’s weapons pointed at a 13-year-old.

Now, over seven years after the raid, they will testify against the officers involved, accusing them of excessive force, pointing guns at them, and leaving them traumatized.

Their mother and grandmother were also there when police raided the home looking for a gang member and a handgun, but an investigation by CBS News Chicago found they were in the wrong house.

They took the word of a paid informant and didn’t properly vet the information.

“I’m like, oh my god. Please don’t let him shoot my baby,” Cynthia Eason said in 2018.

The CBS News Chicago investigators have spent years exposing how innocent people are treated by officers during these raids, especially children.

Some of the children from other wrongful raid cases are also expected to testify as part of the trial. Attorneys for the family will work to prove that CPD engages in a pattern of pointing guns and using excessive force against children.

“What are you doing, pointing guns at innocent young children? Wake up,” said Attorney Al Hofeld Jr.

Hofeld is the family’s attorney and said the jury will also hear the traumatic impact on the adults who were in the home at the time of the raid, like Eason, the children’s grandmother, who was in her underwear when officers burst into the home.

Eason said police forced her outside in a state of undress in front of her neighbors.

“When I was sitting there, one officer was laughing at me,” she said.

She said she kept asking for clothes but was denied.

“I looked at him, he’s laughing, and imagine how that feels,” she said.

Data shows the cities already spent $600,000 on legal fees for private law firms to defend the officers involved, and that number is expected to increase as the trial is expected to last a month.

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 Marissa Sulek

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Plainfield mom is warning parents and kids about the danger of a popular toy that burned half of her son’s face.

In the last couple of months, Loyola Medicine says they have had four patients come in with burns from a Needoh cube — a sensory toy filled with gelatinous material.

The toy itself has no problems, but there’s a TikTok trend going around that encourages kids to put the gel toys in the microwave — causing them to explode and leading to significant burns.

It’s the flexible jelly-like toys that are causing concern for parents after a TikTok trend is pushing kids to stick the Needoh cube toy in the microwave to make them more pliable, since they firm up over time.

“Him and a friend, through conversation, were talking about it at school, and then he, i guess, just got the idea to try it,” said mother Whitney Grubb.

She said her 9-year-old son Caleb Chabolla put one of his Needoh cubes in the microwave a few weeks ago as they were getting ready for school.

“I heard him scream and I saw him take off running towards one of our bathrooms and that stuff had popped on his face,” she said.

Grubb said when Caleb opened the microwave, it exploded all over his face, causing second-degree burns on one side and his hands. Whitney drove him to the emergency room.

“By the time, you know, we were settled in at Loyola, his eye was completely swollen shut, so I was immediately worried about his eye,” she said.

“Because it’s so viscous, it sticks, and it stays hot longer, it’s going to cause a more significant burn,” said Kelly McElligott.

McElligott with Loyola Medicine’s burn center said once Caleb got to the hospital, they washed the burns, cut away dead skin, and applied ointment. They also had an ophthalmologist check on Caleb’s eye and found his vision was thankfully unimpaired by the accident.

Doctors said Caleb is not the only patient falling for the trend.

“A child who heated it up in the microwave, then put her finger on it and her finger went through, and it burned her finger,” McElligott said.

She said Caleb spent two days in the hospital and did not need skin grafts, but may develop scars.

Both she and Whitney now want families to be cautious.

“Do not heat these up in any way, shape, or form. Whether it’s the microwave, hot water, those things can really be dangerous,” McElligott said.

“Just talk with your kids, make sure they understand the safety of the things,” Grubb said.

CBS Chicago did reach out to the company, Schylling, that manufactures Needoh, but did not hear back.

There are warning labels on the product that tell users not to heat them.

As for Caleb, he has a follow-up appointment at the burn clinic tomorrow morning and goes back to school later this week.

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.

WBBM

By Marissa Sulek

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Plainfield mom is warning parents and kids about the danger of a popular toy that burned half of her son’s face.

In the last couple of months, Loyola Medicine says they have had four patients come in with burns from a Needoh cube — a sensory toy filled with gelatinous material.

The toy itself has no problems, but there’s a TikTok trend going around that encourages kids to put the gel toys in the microwave — causing them to explode and leading to significant burns.

It’s the flexible jelly-like toys that are causing concern for parents after a TikTok trend is pushing kids to stick the Needoh cube toy in the microwave to make them more pliable, since they firm up over time.

“Him and a friend, through conversation, were talking about it at school, and then he, i guess, just got the idea to try it,” said mother Whitney Grubb.

She said her 9-year-old son Caleb Chabolla put one of his Needoh cubes in the microwave a few weeks ago as they were getting ready for school.

“I heard him scream and I saw him take off running towards one of our bathrooms and that stuff had popped on his face,” she said.

Grubb said when Caleb opened the microwave, it exploded all over his face, causing second-degree burns on one side and his hands. Whitney drove him to the emergency room.

“By the time, you know, we were settled in at Loyola, his eye was completely swollen shut, so I was immediately worried about his eye,” she said.

“Because it’s so viscous, it sticks, and it stays hot longer, it’s going to cause a more significant burn,” said Kelly McElligott.

McElligott with Loyola Medicine’s burn center said once Caleb got to the hospital, they washed the burns, cut away dead skin, and applied ointment. They also had an ophthalmologist check on Caleb’s eye and found his vision was thankfully unimpaired by the accident.

Doctors said Caleb is not the only patient falling for the trend.

“A child who heated it up in the microwave, then put her finger on it and her finger went through, and it burned her finger,” McElligott said.

She said Caleb spent two days in the hospital and did not need skin grafts, but may develop scars.

Both she and Whitney now want families to be cautious.

“Do not heat these up in any way, shape, or form. Whether it’s the microwave, hot water, those things can really be dangerous,” McElligott said.

“Just talk with your kids, make sure they understand the safety of the things,” Grubb said.

CBS Chicago did reach out to the company, Schylling, that manufactures Needoh, but did not hear back.

There are warning labels on the product that tell users not to heat them.

As for Caleb, he has a follow-up appointment at the burn clinic tomorrow morning and goes back to school later this week.

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 Noel Brennan

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II, less than half a percent of those veterans are still with us and continue to share their stories.

After all these years, some of them are just getting to know each other.

Sit down next to anyone, and you can find something in common.

“That’s me in the service,” said Robert Miller.

“I always considered myself kind of a nerd, but I look pretty good there,” Willard Smith said jokingly.

Smith and Miller are finding a lot in common. They recently moved into the Tabor Hills Healthcare Facility in Naperville. Eighty-two years and more than 8,000 miles away from where their paths first crossed.

“And that’s where he was up there, too, and he might’ve gone through the same system probably,” Smith said.

As teenagers, they fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II, both in the Battle of Luzon.

“They said, ‘You look too young to fight this war,’ and it probably was true,” Miller said.

“Eighteen years old,” Smith said. “Now, I’m 100 years old… oh, man. Didn’t think I’d make it that far.”

Smith just had his party. Robert’s is next month.

“I’m looking forward to it to a certain degree,” Miller said.

The two veterans are almost the same age, both fought in World War II in the same area, and are now sitting next to each other.

“Yeah, isn’t that something?” Smith said.

The two also started families and became teachers — one in science and the other in art.

“I think I taught every kind of art there ever was,” Smith said.

They’ve changed in some ways. In others, not so much as Smith tries on his hat.

“And of course, you wanted to wear it jauntily, you know, so you’re looking sharp,” he said.

It took a long time to get here, but these vets are fast friends.

“And it brings back a lot of good memories,” Miller said.

“We had a good run, I think, for a couple of soldiers,” Smith 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.