Aug. 28--Police said Friday they don't suspect foul play in the deaths of a father and son who were found in their home near Des Plaines Thursday during a hazardous materials emergency.
But authorities have not revealed what killed the men and sickened a third person in the townhouse and continue to investigate.
John Tae Kim, 83, and his son Hong K. Kim, 53, were found dead at about 3:30 p.m. inside their townhouse in the 9400 block of Harrison Street, said Sophia Ansari, Cook County sheriff's police spokeswoman. A woman who police said is the wife and mother to the men was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she remained Friday afternoon, Ansari said.
Ansari and Cook County medical examiners said the cause of death for the men is still pending.
Hong Kim is named as the owner of Signature A-1 Cleaners in Wood Dale, according to a list of licensed dry cleaners from the Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Trust Fund of Illinois. A man who answered the phone at the business Friday confirmed that Kim was the owner.
First responders arrived at the townhouse complex near Potter Road in unincorporated Maine Township after a relative of the Kim family called 911 to report the three were in distress, said Richard Dobrowski, chief of the North Maine Fire Protection District.
Four sheriff's officers who went to the scene suffered respiratory problems and were treated and released from a hospital, police said. On Thursday evening, crews were allowed to return after ruling out certain contaminants. Police have yet to say what the hazardous materials were, but said oxygen levels in the air appeared normal and nothing unusual was detected in the water supply.
Kate Thayer is a Chicago Tribune reporter; Jennifer Johnson is a Pioneer Press reporter.
kthayer@tribpub.com
jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com
