Year in review: The faces of 2007

It's not unusual for the face -- and faces -- of our communities to change from year to year. It's as natural as snow in December.

But perhaps never in recent memory has it seemed that so many of the changes, especially in Naperville, have brought such an unpleasant chill, the likes of which threaten to cast a long spell of darkness on the city.

Oh, there were plenty of sunny spots, of course. Many of our sports teams soared. We could smile -- even while shaking our heads -- at the antics of our newly minted reality TV stars.

There was the teenage girl who collected valentines for our troops, and the Aurora guy who spent days riding a stationary bike -- both for good causes.

We could celebrate superb artists and educators. We could applaud Lisle for earning a spot in a magazine's listing of the best places to live in America.

But always, it seemed, the darkness lurked like an unwelcome visitor.

There was the bitter dispute over a Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora. There was the expected departure of Naperville Park District's executive director and the unexpected departure of the city manager.

There was the perplexing mess that surrounds efforts to find a site for Metea Valley High School, and the even more perplexing legal mess that now threatens to overwhelm Naperville's city council.

The faces on these pages run the gamut, from the wonderful to, well, the ridiculous.

Some surely are worth celebrating. Others, surely, we soon hope to forget.

But, for better or worse, all of them made a difference in Naperville, Lisle or Aurora and earned their spot among our 50 Faces of 2007.

Peter Burchard

The longtime Naperville city manager stunned officials in early November when he announced he would step down Dec. 7 to pursue a position in the private sector. He stunned them again a short time later when he went public with a memo that was highly critical of Councilman Richard Furstenau. It was a shocking turn for someone who, during his 10-year tenure, was one of the city's biggest cheerleaders and helped lead one of the largest residential and commercial growth spurts in the city's 176-year history.

Richard Furstenau

The Naperville councilman was acquitted of battery charges against a police officer early in the year and then sued the city for violating his civil rights -- all the while continuing to serve on the council. His lawsuit triggered a huge political firestorm that led, in part, to Burchard's resignation and calls from some quarters for Furstenau to follow suit. Late in the year, his fellow council members censured him for his alleged nastiness to some city employees, but Furstenau argued it was simply payback for his lawsuit.

Amy Berger

The Naperville teen resurrected her Hearts for Heroes project to send Valentine's Day cards to our troops overseas. She conducted a similar campaign three years ago, but decided to revive it in time for her 16th birthday and in response to the controversy over President Bush's plans to send more troops to Iraq. This time around the effort really caught fire and she collected more than 40,000 cards.

Stephen Daeschner

The longtime superintendent of the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky., was hired in February to replace the retiring Howard Crouse as superintendent of Indian Prairie Unit District 204. He began work July 1 and immediately found himself in the middle of the district's struggle to find a site to build the proposed Metea Valley High School.

Mary Ellingson

The longtime Naperville City Council member's political career came to an apparent end in February when she finished last in a three-way mayoral primary that saw incumbent George Pradel and Councilman Doug Krause advance to the April 17 general election.

George Hood

The 49-year-old Aurora man tried to pedal his way to a Guinness Book world record in January by spending more than 84 hours riding a stationary bicycle at a Burr Ridge fitness center. The 23-year law enforcement veteran was hoping to raise $20,000 for a group that assists families of fallen officers. He actually rode 85 hours but discovered four months later that Guinness wouldn't recognize his record because of a bookkeeping error. So he did it again. This time, in July, he stayed on the bike for 111 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds -- and the Guinness people were there to verify it.

Nicole D'Ambrosio

The 25-year-old Naperville Central High School graduate was one of 18 contestants to vie for a job with Donald Trump when "The Apprentice" began its season in January. She made it to the Final Four before The Donald lowered the boom on her for having a relationship with another contestant.

Naperville North football

The Huskies rolled to the Class 8A championship in November with a 46-19 thrashing of Glenbard North to finish their season 13-1. The only thing that went wrong: The Huskies broke a chunk of the first-place trophy during their post-game celebration.

Rev. Dave Ferguson

The pastor of Naperville's Christ Community Church was front and center again when his congregation was named the 19th-most influential non-Catholic church in America by The Church Report, a monthly magazine. It was the second straight year on the list for the church -- last year it ranked 13th.

Barbara Heller

The embattled executive director of Naperville Park District announced her resignation March 9, citing differences in philosophy and goals with some board members. Heller, who joined the district in 2004, had been coming under increasing fire over a proposed $35 million recreation center in Frontier Park. As the year ended, the park board had scrapped plans for the center and finally appeared to be zeroing in on her replacement.

Ronen Mir

The head of Aurora's SciTech Hands-On Museum stepped down after eight years to become director of the Israel National Museum of Science. During his stint here, he oversaw a large-scale interior renovation, creation of an outdoor park and spearheaded efforts to attract two large traveling exhibits each year.

Cara Jacobs

The North Central College student from Carol Stream was the first recipient of the Mironda Heston Scholarship Fund for Public Service, which honors a NCC grad who died in 2004 while helping the needy in Haiti. Cara used her scholarship to spend three weeks working with 70 children of working single mothers at a Mexican day-care center.

Evan Lysacek

The Neuqua Valley High School graduate delivered his first ever quad-triple combination en route to his first U.S. Men's Figure Skating national championship in late January in Spokane. He advanced to the world championships in Tokyo, where he finished fifth.

Candace Parker

The Naperville native led the Tennessee Volunteers to a 59-46 win over Rutgers April 3 to clinch the national championship in women's college basketball. She also was named an All-American and, of course, the tournament's MVP.

Scott Huber

He spent the past six years living on the street, but that didn't stop him from launching a write-in campaign to join the Naperville mayoral race with incumbent George Pradel and challenger Doug Krause. Huber, who ran his campaign from a chair outside the Chicago Avenue parking deck, finished last.

Gina Glocksen

The rockin' Naperville singer made it into the final 10 on "American Idol" but was ousted in a controversial vote in early April -- even though some clearly less-talented performers remained. Just a week later, though, she was feted in Naperville with a small ceremony and a presentation of the key to the city.

Chuck Gros

The Naperville firefighter and paramedic was honored in October with the 2007 Citizens Appreciate Public Safety George Winckler Award as the city's top firefighter. Gros is a Boy Scout leader, helped with a firefighter-related benefit in St. Charles and serves on the department's technical rescue team. He also was part of a crew from Naperville that went to Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina.

Judi Greenberg

The Naperville Exchange Club feted her as its Firefighter of the Year in November in honor of her work taking over as a fire department trainer when a colleague fell ill.

Steve Trombley

The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area survived a lengthy legal fight and an array of protests to open a Planned Parenthood facility on the far east side of Aurora. The center came under fire primarily because it offers abortions.

Bev Eigenberg

The Naperville resident and member of its Sister Cities Commission was honored with a sculpture in her name in Nitra, Slovakia. The outdoor sculpture resembled a bowling pin with potato chips on top, but Eigenberg said she adores it just the same.

Jared Canfield

The home-schooled junior from Naperville won first place and a $1,600 college award at the state level of the 70th annual National Oratorical Contest sponsored by the American Legion. Jared represented Illinois in competition with the other 49 states in the national contest in April and finished third.

Peter Lueck, Patricia Wernet

Lueck announced he would step down at the end of the current school year after 11 years as superintendent of Lisle Unit District 202. Wernet, who spent the past four years as superintendent in South Berwyn School District 100, was appointed in December to replace him.

Patrick Dougherty

The artist created a huge sculpture of woven wood on the east side of Morton Arboretum and then named it Xanadu during Arbor Day ceremonies at the outdoor museum in Lisle. The sculpture was the largest Dougherty has ever created.

Kristin Dehnert

The Aurora native-turned-Los Angeles-film scout directed one of five amateur Doritos commercials that had a chance to be aired on the Super Bowl telecast featuring the Bears and Colts.

Sgt. Tim Jordan

The Naperville police sergeant was named this year's winner of the George Pradel Award for Public Service in early May at the Citizens Appreciate Public Safety banquet. He was celebrated for both his role as a police officer and as an organizer of the St. Baldrick's campaign that raises money for childhood cancer research.

Janet Sommerville

The Naperville Central High School business teacher was named the OfficeMax Teacher Innovator of the Year. Her business classes are known for giving students real-world experience and some exciting field trips.

Sherman Alexie

The American Indian author caused a flap at Naperville North High School in late September and early October when he used a racial epithet during a speech at an assembly. Several angry students walked out of his presentation and the school district struggled to do damage control.

Jeri Kehn

The 40-year-old Naperville native and a member of Naperville North's 1984 state championship spirit team campaigned with her husband, former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, as he sought the GOP nomination for president. The couple married in Naperville in 2002 and have two children.

Andy Nussbaum

The Naperville Central girls basketball coach notched his 400th career victory in early January when the Redhawks defeated cross-town rival Naperville North 57-55. "… To get it here against our arch rival makes it extra special," the coach said.

Mark Lindo

Just days after his Naperville Central counterpart won his 400th game, the Naperville North boys basketball coach notched his 400th win when the Huskies defeated Glenbard North 63-59.

Jes Rickleff

The Naperville native emerged as the winner of the VH1 reality show "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels." After vying against 24 other women during 12 episodes, Jes won the opportunity to become the girlfriend of the former lead singer of Poison. The relationship never bloomed, however, and by the time the reunion show aired, Jes had moved on.

Shawn Carlson

An innovator in science education and the founder of the Society for Amateur Scientists, he took the helm of the SciTech Hands-On Museum in Aurora June 1. He's a physicist who garnered national attention for his work in promoting "citizen science."

Central girls volleyball

The Naperville Central Redhawks won their second state title in three years when they defeated perennial power Mother McAuley 25-23 and 25-22 in Normal. The Redhawks won their final 23 matches en route to winning the state crown.

Neuqua Valley baseball

The underdog Wildcats shocked New Trier 5-1 to win the Class AA boys baseball state championship at Jackhammers Stadium in Joliet. Neuqua finished the season with a 35-8 mark.

Howard Crouse

The retired Indian Prairie superintendent secured his place in Unit District 204 history when officials dedicated their administrative headquarters in his name.

Jackie Romberg

The 23-year Naperville resident and a former financial consultant was named in early August to the Naperville Unit District 203 school board to replace Jim Caulfield, who resigned. Romberg had been a frequent volunteer in the district and a member of the Naperville Education Foundation board of trustees.

Jennifer Garrison

The Naperville woman finished first in the Subaru U.S. Women's Triathlon for the second straight time. She's also the reigning U.S. Amateur National Champion. Roughly 2,300 women competed in the annual triathlon in Naperville.

Joe Broda

Lisle's mayor had reason to celebrate in July when Money magazine named the village the 20th best place to live in America among small towns. The magazine praised the village's diversity and affordable housing.

Kristine Summers

The 20-year-old Aurora resident and Neuqua Valley High School graduate appeared on an episode of MTV's "True Life" series to discuss the virtues of remaining celibate. She said she hoped to encourage her 15-year-old sister and other young girls to make wise decisions.

Mike Skarr

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO announced plans in July to step down at the end of the year. His announcement came at the same time the chamber board approved a draft of a strategic initiative to guide the group through 2020. Under his leadership, chamber membership nearly doubled to more than 2,000 members.

Waubonsie girls soccer

The Warriors went undefeated, finishing 30-0-1, and won the Class AA state championship with a 4-0 victory over Fremd June 3. Freshman Vanessa DiBernardo scored three goals in the championship game and sophomore Bri Rodriguez was named captain of our all-area team. It was the first state championship in Waubonsie history.

Neuqua cross country

The Wildcats won their first state boys cross country title Nov. 3, easily outpacing runner-up York. Senior Chris Derrick led the way, beating the field by 20 seconds.

Greg Woods

The Naperville North student won the title of Mr. Naperville 2007 in a competition that featured two guys from each of the city's four high schools. "I was pretty surprised," he said.

Ryan Hunt

Call him the Cal Ripken Jr. of students. The Naperville teen graduated in May from Waubonsie Valley High School without ever missing a day during his entire school career in Indian Prairie Unit District 204.

Suzyn Price

The Naperville Unit District 203 school board member won re-election in the spring, was appointed board president by her peers, and is helping with a referendum push to raise money to renovate Naperville Central High School and other facilities.

Joe Dunn

The state representative from Naperville announced in July that he will not seek re-election in 2008. After six years in the state House, he said, he was discouraged by the governor's leadership style and worried he wasn't devoting enough time to his young family. But he hinted he may re-enter the political arena at some point.

Jim Meyer

The longtime state representative from Naperville announced in August that he won't seek re-election in 2008. Meyer, 68, said his decision came as a result of health concerns in the wake of a heart attack and a desire to spend more time with his family.

George Pradel

The popular Naperville mayor stepped into the history books in April when he became only the second person ever elected to four terms at the city's helm. By year's end, though, some of the joy of re-election had disappeared as legal and political wrangling threatened to tear the city council apart.

Pixie

The purebred pug -- full name, Pixie Penelope Deatrick -- made headlines in March when she was stolen as part of a house burglary in Bolingbrook. Family members said they didn't care about the other stolen items, but they wanted their dog back. They eventually got their wish.