Faces of 2007

Some are dedicated public servants who spent countless hours -- in one case, decades -- trying to make our communities better.

Another is a professional football player who found himself embroiled in a variety of scandals.

One is a child who touched our hearts and made headlines for the health issues she and her family faced with grace, dignity and hope.

And another is a teen whose love for science and medicine might very well help another such family in the future.

These are just some of the people who made news in Lake County in 2007.

Ed Lescher and Lee Shannon

When torrential downpours caused flood waters to crest about 3 feet over normal summer water levels in August, Ed Lescher and Lee Shannon were on the front lines.

As directors of their towns' emergency services disaster agencies -- Lescher in Fox Lake and Shannon in Antioch -- the two spent countless hours keeping tabs on the water in New Munster, Wis., all the way south to the swollen banks of the Chain O' Lakes.

They drove for hours into flooded areas to talk with some 400 homeowners affected by the flooding, making sure they had all the supplies needed to weather the weather.

They arranged for volunteers to fill sandbags, then hand-delivered them. For elderly residents, they arranged to have sandbags stacked.

The work wasn't over when the floods finally receded at the end of August. Lescher and Shannon walked and drove officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and showed the damaged areas.

Lake County was declared a national disaster area because of the rain that fell. The work done by Lescher and Shannon helped secure federal grants and loans to offset the cost of cleaning up the destruction left behind by Mother Nature.

Tank Johnson and Trina

The 14-month saga that sent Tank Johnson packing from the Chicago Bears started in his Gurnee home in December of 2006.

That's when police raided his home and seized six weapons, some of them loaded, and about 550 rounds of ammunition.

They also found about 2.5 ounces of marijuana and some pills believed to be hydrocodone, a generic form of the painkiller Vicadin.

Johnson's friend and bodyguard, Willie Posey, who was also living in the house at the time of the raid, was charged with possession of the marijuana. Posey was later shot and killed during a bar fight that Johnson was a part of.

But, the plight of one of his dogs -- Trina -- was the feel-good story that emerged in the fray.

Trina achieved local celebrity status as one of three pit bulls that helped trigger neighbor complaints and the police raid of Johnson's Gurnee house.

All of the news coverage of Trina being seized from Johnson's home by Lake County Animal Control and then being placed at the Save-A-Pet Adoption Center near Grayslake eventually paid off for the dog.

Save-A-Pet Executive Director Vestee Jackson said a 52-year-old McHenry woman adopted the purebred pit bull in February. Recent checks by the no-kill shelter show 1-year-old Trina and her owner are doing fine.

After playing for the Bears in the Super Bowl, Johnson spent 60 days in Cook County jail for a probation violation. He was later pulled over by Arizona police for speeding and on suspicion of DUI. Despite not being charged, the Bears released Johnson. He is now playing for the Dallas Cowboys.

Taylor Radtke

In October, Laurie Radtke and her husband, Jeff, found themselves in a battle against time to save their 7-year-old daughter, Taylor.

Taylor had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and doctors had refused to operate on the lesion because it was anchored too close to the carotid artery.

The tumor threatened young Taylor's vision, movement, and even her life.

Laurie and Jeff -- a captain with the Lake Zurich Fire Department -- were looking desperately for anyone who would take on the risky surgery.

Eventually, as word spread about the little girl, a glimmer of hope emerged.

After the Daily Herald chronicled the family's plight, a reader recommended the Radtkes meet with Arizona neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler, director of St. Joseph's Barrow Neurological Institute.

Spetzler agreed to operate on Taylor, and the family began a journey across the United States that, among other things, included a stop in Southern California to fulfill Taylor's dream of visiting the San Diego Zoo.

At first, doctors thought only a portion of the tumor could be removed. However, when surgery was completed on Oct. 25, doctors said they were able to remove the entire tumor.

Taylor returned home to attend a fundraiser in her honor at St. Francis de Sales Church in Lake Zurich on Nov. 11. She is still recovering, but the future seems bright for the little Johnsburg cheerleader.

Gokul Krishnan

Gokul Krishnan, 13, of Libertyville, had quite a year.

Given his affinity for math, science, and medicine -- and a family pedigree in neurological research -- the seventh-grader from Oak Grove School in Green Oaks wanted to enter a science project that studied neuroblastma, a cancer of the nervous system that strikes children in infancy.

The project was determining how brain cells would react in varying levels of acids and bases, and finding out what would be the best environment for them to grow.

Krishnan didn't know the project would launch him into an elite group of what is considered the country's next generation of scientific leaders. First, he was one of 13 science fair winners at Oak Grove. He then emerged as a leader among contestants at the regional competition in Arlington Heights. At the state science fair in Champaign, he was one of seven students selected from 1,200 to be judged as outstanding.

But it didn't stop there.

Krishnan was selected as one of 400 semifinalists in the Discovery Channel's Young Scientist Challenge, a national contest offering more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes.

The field was narrowed, and Krishnan was one of 40 finalists vying to be "America's Top Young Scientist of the Year." Finalists were selected from 75,000 students who entered statewide science fairs.

He may not have won on the Discovery Channel, but the event was fun for him, he said. And, best yet, he got to meet a lot of other students with similar backgrounds.

"We used a fire extinguisher to represent how increasing (carbon dioxide) levels alter the speed at which glaciers melt," he said. "When we were doing it, the fire extinguisher was completely pressurized, so we just blew up the experiment. We had fun with that anyway."

Adeline Geo-Karis

After more than three decades in Illinois politics, Adeline Geo-Karis said goodbye to her Illinois Senate seat in January.

The 89-year-old woman -- who served the 31st District until being ousted by Suzanne Simpson during the 2006 Republican primary -- was described as a progressive trailblazer whose service in the military and entry into the law profession came at a time when neither was considered a place for women.

A Greek immigrant who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Geo-Karis was the first woman to practice law in Lake County. She joined the state House in 1973 and the Senate six years later.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle lavished praise on Geo-Karis during her final days in January. After all, she was considered the dean of the Senate.

She was described as a peacemaker amid heated political times but a lawmaker who never forgot those who voted against her plans.

She was also never hesitated to remind them they were wrong to oppose her.

Long recognized as the leader of Lake County politics, she was succeeded in the Senate by Democrat Michael Bond. He won the seat over Simpson in November of 2006, after Geo-Karis sent letter to supporters asking them to back Bond.

Geo-Karis said she has no regrets about her time served as a politician.

"I really have no regrets," she said. "None whatsoever. I served my time."

Smokers and non-smokers

It was non-smokers and smokers alike who stood up throughout the year trying to get their points across about the state smoking ban.

Bar owners in towns where the ban had already been in place -- like in Vernon Hills and Libertyville -- were in favor of a county and state-wide smoking ban because it leveled the playing field in that smokers could no longer go to a neighboring town where smoking was legal.

But, the flip side was that bar owners near the Wisconsin border remained steadfast against the law because smokers could drive over the Illinois border to smoke and drink without having to stand 15 feet away from the door to light up.

In the end, it was the non-smokers who won out.

Lake County approved a smoking ordinance on May 8, preventing smoking from taking place in unincorporated areas on Jan. 1. Then, state lawmakers approved a statewide smoking ban on July 23, making it illegal to smoke within 15 feet of any public place in the state.

Restaurant and tavern owners in Libertyville rejoiced, while bars owners in Fox Lake and Antioch basically worried they will have to declare bankruptcy when the ban goes into effect on Tuesday.