Lake County's Top 10 stories of 2008
When it came time for the reporters, photographers and editors in the Daily Herald's Lake County bureau to choose the county's top stories of 2008, only one subject was on every single ballot: The economy.
Corporate layoffs, bankruptcies, municipal budget woes and other financial problems dominated the news in Lake County and across the country this year.
But other local stories ran beneath banner headlines in 2008, too. They included pieces about a mysterious cougar, an errant airplane landing and one of the nation's hottest Congressional races.
Here, then, are our selections for Lake County's Top 10 stories of 2008.
The economy tanks
Any doubts as to whether the nation was in a recession were quashed this year as the financial picture went from bad to worse - and showed no signs of improving.
Companies throughout the area cut jobs in 2008. House values fell. Foreclosures rose.
In Lake Zurich, for example, LaSalle Bank filed to foreclose on a townhouse project at the heart of the village's much-anticipated downtown redevelopment plan.
Additionally, several villages struggled to handle budget deficits. Village leaders in Antioch, Hawthorn Woods and Wauconda were among those who laid off staffers to try to make ends meet.
Geo-Karis dies
The beloved grandam of Lake County politics and a trailblazer for female public servants, veteran state Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis died Feb. 10 at the age of 89.
Geo, as she was affectionately known to virtually everyone, spent the bulk of her political career in the Senate. She also served in the state House, as mayor of Zion and in other public posts.
Fiercely patriotic, she often seemed most proud of a job she held earlier in her life: lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Among the more than 300 mourners at her funeral were many notable faces, including Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, former Gov. Jim Thompson, state Senator and ranking Democrat Terry Link, state Rep. Kathy Ryg, Lake County Clerk Willard Helander and state Sen. Michael Bond, who had succeeded her in the Senate in 2007.
Clerk kills robber
Twenty-year-old Brandon Starks was shot to death Oct. 13 outside People's Market in Waukegan. According to police, the North Chicago resident had just robbed the store at gunpoint and was riding away on a bicycle when the store's clerk shot him.
The clerk, whose name has never been released by police, did not have a valid firearm owners identification card and therefore was not legally allowed to use a gun, authorities said.
Additionally, some legal experts have questioned whether the clerk's deadly actions were covered by laws governing self-defense because the robbery was over and Starks was fleeing when he was killed.
However, charges have never been filed in the case.
Where's the salt?
High prices and limited supplies have prompted many suburbs to cut back on the amount of road salt they're using this season. There have been only a few snowstorms so far, but already motorists have noticed streets are slicker and more snow-packed than normal.
Some communities are mixing road salt with other materials, such as beet juice, to extend the supply. Others simply are putting less salt on the roads or salting selectively.
So drive safely, folks. The fender you save could be your own.
Murder plot revealed
The bizarre Feb. 23 murder of Arlington Heights resident Justin Newman unraveled nearly two weeks later when Lake County sheriff's police said Newman had been killed by a Lake Barrington man faking his own death in an insurance scam.
Police said Ari Squire lured Newman to his home with a promise of a job, then strangled him. Squire then dressed Newman in his clothing, took Newman's body into his garage, dropped a pickup truck on top of the body and set the garage on fire.
Squire then fled the area in Newman's car, leaving his wife to host a funeral party for more than 120 people at a Skokie restaurant.
On the run, Squire shot himself to death in a Missouri hotel room after police found Newman's vehicle there.
Sheriff Mark Curran recently said the case remains under investigation.
A cougar calls
In the early months of the year, people in Round Lake, North Chicago and other suburbs reported seeing a cougar or another large cat on the prowl. Many scoffed at the reports - until April 14, when police shot and killed a male cougar in Chicago.
It turned out the animal, believed to be about 2 years old, had ties to South Dakota but had visited Wisconsin, too. DNA tests confirmed it.
Researchers theorized the animal had left its home turf due to crowding. Until the cougar was killed in Chicago, only two confirmed sightings had been made in Illinois since the 1860s - both this decade.
Railroad fight
Lake County was just one of the battlegrounds in the fight over whether Canadian National should be allowed to acquire the EJ&E line that runs in an arc between Waukegan and Gary, Ind.
Canadian National officials say the merger would allow them to move freight trains from its lines in Chicago and nearby suburbs onto the EJ&E tracks. That could, Canadian National officials say, relieve train congestion in the city.
Opponents of the move, including many suburban residents, village officials along the rail line and U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean of Barrington, fear the move will cause traffic, safety problems and environmental hazards.
In August, more than 100 people packed a Mundelein hotel's banquet room to sound off on both sides of the argument during a public hearing. Among the foes of the plan who spoke up at that hearing were Bean, Hawthorn Woods Mayor Keith Hunt, Mundelein Village Administrator John Lobaito and Countryside Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Steingart.
Mundelein later struck a deal with Canadian National that would require the company to establish quiet zones, among other caveats, if the deal moves forward.
And it looks like that will happen. This month, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which has final say on the deal, gave Canadian National a list of steps it must take to mitigate any negative impacts of the proposed acquisition.
A formal vote still must be taken.
Flooding - again
Another year, another bad flood.
This time it was a long June rainstorm that led to flooding on the Chain O' Lakes and Fox River. Lake County emergency officials estimated more than 400 structures were affected or damaged by the storm.
Water levels on the Chain reached 21/2 feet above flood stage. It was the third time in a year the Chain overflowed.
Lake County and 13 other Illinois counties were declared federal disaster areas, paving the way for recovery grants and low-interest loans.
In addition to the usual high waters and flooded basements, this storm brought a new, strange sight: floating bogs that broke free from shorelines and needed to be wrangled by authorities.
Can I play through?
Water and sand are hazards golfers expect to find on the links - not airplanes.
But that's where police say Lake Villa resident Robert Kadera chose to land his Piper PA-16 Clipper on March 1.
Kadera set the plane down on the Crane's Landing Golf Course at Marriott's Lincolnshire Resort, just across Route 22 from the Lincolnshire Bath and Tennis Club. Police said Kadera told them he'd landed there to get his teenage son to the club for a tennis lesson.
Kadera later was charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and endangering the life of a child. The case is pending.
Kirk vs. Seals II
Republicans across the country took a beating on Election Night - except for the one representing Illinois' 10th House District.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park won a fifth term in Congress in November, defeating Democratic challenger Dan Seals. It was the second time Seals, of Wilmette, tried to unseat Kirk - and a lot of political onlookers thought he might have a shot at victory because of the Democratic turnout expected to accompany Barack Obama's run for the presidency.
Seals' campaign hit several speed bumps leading up to November, however. Controversy was raised over a temporary teaching position he had at Northwestern University, and a discounted gasoline stunt he orchestrated in Lincolnshire backfired and resulted in a fine.
Seals' campaign fliers and TV ads also repeatedly tried to make Kirk and President Bush appear like best buddies - but voters didn't buy it.
In fact, Kirk defeated Seals by nearly the same margin as he did in 2006.
Ironically, both men have since been named as potential successors to Obama in the Senate.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=260824">The year's top stories across the suburbs</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260331">2008 in the Northwest suburbs</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260138">A little bit of everything in DuPage</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260531">Top Fox Valley news of 2008</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260250">Lake County's Top 10 stories of 2008</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260290">Looking back on 2008 in the Tri-Cities</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>