Complaint preceded fatal fire:

Chicago inspectors received a complaint about a lack of heat at a home nearly two months before two young children were killed in a fire where authorities say residents were using the stove as a heater. The Chicago Tribune reported the complaint was filed Jan. 5, but city officials say no one was home the next day. A Department of Buildings spokeswoman said information was left behind telling the owner to contact the city. Fire department officials said a kitchen stove in the basement was the cause and origin of Saturday’s fire. Two girls, ages 7 months and 2 years, were killed as they slept. A 6-year-old boy was hospitalized with major burns.

NASA returns lunar bag:

NASA has returned a bag used to collect lunar samples during the first manned moon mission to an Inverness woman who bought it at auction. The Chicago Tribune reported NASA officials turned over the Apollo 11 artifact Monday at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Nancy Lee Carlson bought it for $995 at a 2015 government auction. Attorney Christopher McHugh said his client sent it to Johnson Space Center for study. Center officials deemed it government property and confiscated it. The government said the “rare artifact” was mistakenly sold. It was recovered in 2003 during a criminal investigation against a Kansas space museum director and misidentified. A federal judge ruled in December that he didn’t have the authority to reverse the sale.

More tainted convictions?

The Cook County state’s attorney is investigating whether a former Chicago police sergeant tainted far more convictions than those he has been held accountable for. State’s attorney spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit is reviewing any cases of incarcerated individuals in which former Sgt. Ronald Watts was substantively involved. Watts was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 22 months in prison for extorting protection payoffs from drug dealers. An officer on his team, Kallatt Mohammed, was also convicted and given prison time. Joshua Tepfer of the University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project said prosecutors are working with Exoneration Project lawyers and will be appointing a special master to review the cases. Tepfer said the Exoneration Project on Monday withdrew its petition for a court review of convictions in cases handled by Watts and his team.

Missing paperwork blamed:

The Illinois Department of Corrections said a man accused in a Chicago expressway killing was released on parole in an unrelated case because the department wasn’t informed he should be held. Garrett Glover, who was released Friday, was supposed to be returned to the custody of the Cook County sheriff’s office, but the Department of Corrections says it didn’t get documentation from Cook County saying he should be held. The 29-year-old Glover is awaiting trial in the Sept. 5, 2012, shooting of 25-year-old Larry Porter on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Anyone with information of Glover’s whereabouts should call (773) 674-0169. Aiding a fugitive is a class four felony punishable by one to three years in prison.

2 convicted of Medicaid fraud:

Illinois State Police have announced the convictions of two women on fraud involving the Medicaid program. The department said Monday the Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau nabbed the women in separate investigations. Convicted were 43-year-old Monica Brown of Chicago and 51-year-old Cassandra Miller of Decatur. Both worked as aides assisting clients who can live in their homes but need help with daily tasks. Investigators found Brown billed for services for a client who had been dead for more than two years. She pleaded guilty in Cook County. She was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $31,000 in restitution. Miller falsified provider time sheets between August 2015 and April 2016. She pleaded guilty in Macon County and was sentenced to probation and community service. She also was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

Turbulence forces landing:

An American Airlines flight from San Diego to Chicago made an emergency landing Monday in Denver after hitting severe turbulence that injured five passengers. Flight 1296 landed safely about 5:35 p.m. Monday at Denver International Airport. The flight resumed its trip to Chicago later Monday night.