The year in review

This is the week people will look back on 2007 and ask themselves if it was a good year or a bad year.

The answer will differ from person to person, of course. But one thing is certain: When it came to news, 2007 was a busy year.

Flooding, a state football championship and an insect invasion were just a few of the stories that made headlines in Lake County this year.

The reporters, editors and photographers in the Daily Herald's Lake County bureau recently gathered to choose the year's top stories. These are our choices.

Rain, rain, go away

The water was everywhere.

After heavy rains drenched Lake County and the entire Chicago area in early August, it was hard to find dry land for a while.

The Fox and Des Plaines rivers and the Chain O' Lakes overflowed, sewers backed up, streets became impassible and homes and business were swamped.

Antioch, Libertyville, Gurnee and Fox Lake were among the hardest-hit areas in the county.

Lake and five other counties were declared federal disaster areas. Area wide, the cost of the storm damage to local and state government agencies for response and clean up was estimated at more than $22.8 million.

School's out

Less than a week before the school year was set to begin, Lake Zurich Unit District 95 officials announced May Whitney Elementary School would be closed for the year because of mold problems.

The mold appeared after an Aug. 6 storm flooded a back hallway and cafeteria.

To make matters worse, cleaning crews exposed some asbestos by pulling up water-soaked carpeting and loosening floor tiles.

More than 400 students and about 45 teachers were relocated to the former Middle School North, now known as the Annex.

May Whitney's future is bleak.

"I don't believe we're ever going to return to May Whitney," Superintendent Brian Knutson said in August. "This is the only place we have to go."

Da Bears

Although the Monsters of the Midway were barely capable of a whimper in 2007, the Lake Zurich High Bears roared through the competition en route to the school's first state football title.

After defeating Carmel Catholic High to reach the title game, Lake Zurich knocked off Wheaton Warrenville South for the Class 7A championship. The squad finished the year with an incredible 13-1 record.

All's fair

Plans for a new Lake County Fair complex were greenlit this year.

The new fairgrounds will be built on what had been the 160-acre Titus Farm near Peterson and Midlothian roads in Grayslake. An amphitheater, permanent offices, animal barns and a motor sports area are among the planned amenities, as well as a midway for games, rides and other attractions.

Officials hope the site will be ready for the 2008 county fair in July.

The current fairgrounds, on the northwest corner of routes 120 and 45 in Grayslake, will be turned into a shopping center.

Stop bugging me

Lake County residents were so excited about the anticipated springtime emergence of the 17-year periodic cicada, it was as if a plague of biblical proportions was on its way.

Classes and other activities were staged. The Lake County Forest Preserve District created the CicadaMobile, a traveling exhibit about the noisy creatures.

Ravinia Festival organizers were so concerned about the buggy invasion, they moved some shows indoors and postponed others.

As it turned out, the cicadas were more noticeable elsewhere in the Chicago area than in Lake County. But people sure did like buzzing about them.

Olympic-sized fight

The Lake County Forest Preserve District in January unveiled a plan to stage Olympic equestrian events at the Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda, if the 2016 Games are awarded to Chicago.

Because the project was top-secret until then, the public was left out of initial discussions. But boy oh boy, local residents sure have spoken up since then.

At public meetings, on the Internet and in letters to local newspapers, environmentalists and other activists spent much of the year criticizing the plan, saying Lakewood isn't a suitable venue for Olympic activities. They voiced concerns about the potential impact on local animal and plant species, as well as the site's potential uses after the Olympics.

In October, the Chicago 2016 group said it's considering alternate sites, including the Raven Glen forest preserve near Antioch and two facilities offered by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.

The Lake County forest board has yet to change its plan, however.

Unrest in Waukegan

Illegal immigration is going to be one of the key issues in next year's elections -- but it already was a hot topic in Lake County in 2007.

On separate occasions, thousands of people protested the Waukegan city council's decision to seek powers that would allow local police to enforce federal immigration and deportation laws.

"Waukegan is the lightning rod for the entire United States," Alderman Tony Figueroa said during a July discussion of the issue.

The Waukegan department wasn't the only local police force seeking such powers this year. Earlier this month, Sheriff Mark Curran announced he wants the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to give corrections officers deportation powers for illegal immigrants convicted of a crime.

The county was the first in Illinois to seek the powers.

The move was criticized by local religious and business leaders.

Where's Justin?

We couldn't figure out why pop superstar Justin Timberlake would schedule a public appearance at a Round Lake bowling alley.

But that's exactly what the owner of Sharky's Billiards said was going to happen in March -- and he claimed to have a contract that proved it.

The truth, however, was Timberlake had no plans to visit Sharky's, nor would he ever agree to such a deal.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan even got involved, urging anyone who purchased tickets to the event to dispute the charges with their credit card companies and contact her office for assistance.

In the house

The county-run Winchester House nursing home has been losing money for years as potential residents went elsewhere for medical care.

The financial struggles led county board members to weigh closing the facility, which has operated near Libertyville for more than a century.

But in September, the county board voted to replace the facility with a smaller skilled-nursing facility. Residents, staff members and advocates cheered the decision, which was opposed by only one county commissioner.

Officials expect to fund the $31 million project with loans to be repaid over 20 years with operating revenues and property taxes. The new facility could be open for business in four years.

General hospital(s)?

Could a new hospital be in Lake County's future?

Many residents and area politicians hope so -- and two companies are competing for the opportunity.

Vista Health said last year it wants to build a 140-bed hospital in Lindenhurst. In early January, however, Advocate Health Care announced plans for a 144-bed hospital in Round Lake.

The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which oversees construction of new hospitals and expansion projects, hasn't yet decided if either plan will progress.