The year's top stories across the suburbs

Controversy and tragedy make news, so it's no surprise that the top regional stories of 2008 are issues and events that stir the emotions. Here are the stories that attracted the most attention and most affected suburban life in 2008.

On Feb. 14, a gunman walked into an Introduction to Ocean Science classroom at Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall and took five innocent lives, as well as his own, and injured 21 more.

In the process, the shooter shattered the lives of surviving family and friends and disturbed the sense of security for thousands on the university campus. Students killed were Gayle Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero; Julianna Gehant, 32, of Mendota; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville; and Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester.

The tragedy disrupted the second semester and graduation, but in the fall, NIU welcomed more than 25,000 students for the first "normal" semester since the tragedy. The number was a small decrease from fall 2007, but, noting that most other state universities also had enrollment declines, officials attributed the drop more to the economy than to lingering concerns from the tragedy.

In fact, as the Daily Herald recounted in early December, many students returned specifically to confront and overcome the bleak memories of that dark day.

Following 18 months of heated public hearings, Canadian National Railway learned on Christmas Eve that it can buy a significant part of the Elgin Joliet & Eastern, and divert some of its current freight to the EJ&E line that runs in an arc roughly from Waukegan to Gary, Ind. The plan drew accolades from inner suburbs where rail lines are congested with hundreds of trains every day. Opposition, though, grew louder and more vehement, as communities along the now-sleepy EJ&E line realized how much more rail traffic they are likely to see, The CN contended that spreading out freight traffic on a line that bypasses Chicago would improve freight traffic nationwide, and speed trains to their destinations a full day or two faster. People living along the "J," with Barrington leading the charge, argued that more freight will tie up traffic and delay emergency response; and lead to greater potential for pollution, hazardous materials spills and noise. Those same opponents vow to continue the fight, even as the merger goes into effect Jan. 23. CN will pay $300 million for the EJ&E and has pledged $100 million in upgrades to the system, plus $60 million in mitigation for affected communities.

Nine northeastern Illinois counties were declared federal disaster areas after September storms dumped more than 10 inches of rain on the West and Northwest suburbs in two days. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it received more than 47,500 applications for relief - nearly 42,500 of them from Cook County alone - and approved more than $51 million in assistance. Four deaths were attributed to the deluge and flash floods chased families out of their homes from the Northwest suburbs to Southern Illinois. The Des Plaines River crested in Cook County more than 4 feet above flood stage, just 8 inches shy of the record flood in 1986. The DuPage River's east branch in Bolingbrook crested at 24 feet, shattering the 1986 record of 23.75 feet.

Cook County increased its sales tax by 1 percentage point in July, leaving businesses in border towns like Palatine and Buffalo Grove upset about having to compete with businesses in Lake County not burdened by as much sales tax. Angry businesses and politicians floated the idea of seceding from Cook County and in mid-June, County Board President Todd Stroger appeared before a crowd of 250 taxpayers at Harper College. Stroger said the county had not increased its portion of the sales tax for 15 years and needed the money to combat a budget deficit that at one point approached a half-billion dollars.

The dust on the north end of O'Hare International Airport finally settled Nov. 20 when Chicago welcomed the first new runway in decades. The north runway and the extension of a runway on the south side are part of the ambitious plan to build six parallel runways. The north runway is primarily designed for arrivals in bad weather and officials said it already proved useful during the storms of December. Overall, though, the runway and extension won't make a major dent in delays at O'Hare. That will come when a new runway at the south end is built. Construction will start next year on both ends of the runway but located in its center is the St. Johannes Cemetery. The village of Bensenville, which would lose about 600 properties from O'Hare expansion, and the cemetery's owners continue to fight the project in court.

In July, a Rolling Meadows jury pronounced Ralph Lewis guilty of first-degree murder, ending a two-year-long saga that began when he when blew a stoplight at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads in Wheeling and the U-Haul van he was driving barreled into a car driven by 16-year-old Elliott Cellini, of Buffalo Grove. Buffalo Grove High School student Corey Diamond, 16, was killed and Cellini suffered a traumatic brain injury from which he continues to recover. A third passenger, Brandon Forshall, escaped serious injury. Lewis was fleeing the police following a mini-crime spree at Gurnee Mills when the crash occurred. Lewis' criminal record dates back to 1993 and includes convictions for forgery, burglary and aggravated battery. In September, Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta sentenced Lewis to 45 years in prison.

2008 began with an impending doomsday, as Pace, Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority predicted fare hikes, route cuts and downsizing unless the General Assembly provided new revenues for operations. At the eleventh hour, lawmakers agreed on a sales tax increase but no sooner had the votes been counted, than Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared he wouldn't go along unless seniors could ride free. Despite criticism, the policy went into effect March 17. Later, low-income, disabled individuals were also included in the no-fare program. Despite the bailout, Metra raised fares early in 2008; Pace and the CTA will follow in January. Meanwhile, changes to the paratransit system for Chicagoans at Pace encountered technical problems and complaints, resulting in a Regional Transportation Authority audit.

Illinois Toll Highway Authority Director Brian McPartlin announced he was leaving to take a job in private industry but changed his mind after the Illinois attorney general challenged his request for an ethics waiver that would make the move possible. The agency also embarked on a $1.8 billion plan to build carpool lanes and new interchanges with the blessing of Gov. Rod Blagojevich - a blessing that turned sour when the FBI arrested the governor earlier this month. Among the corruption allegations was the claim that Blagojevich was interested in shaking down a highway contractor for a $500,000 campaign contribution in exchange for work on the project. The governor insinuated in a taped phone conversation he could up the ante on the $1.8 billion if the contractor played ball. In the midst of the turmoil, newly appointed Executive Director Jeff Dailey, hired to replace McPartlin, hit the road after less than a month on the job. Meanwhile, tollway leaders insisted the $1.8 billion spending was needed and would fix congestion.

A Cook County judge found Maine West High School graduate James Masino not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2006 murder of Bartlett resident Jim McNally, a childhood friend of Masino's. According to testimony, the defendant believed stay-at-home dad McNally belonged to a CIA-sponsored assassination squad that had targeted Masino. Cook County Judge Marcus Salone had Masino committed to the Illinois Department of Human Services, where he likely will remain in a state mental health facility until 2068.

Judges set trial dates for defendants charged with two of the suburbs' notorious multiple murders. The capital murder trial of Steven Zirko, accused of killing his former girlfriend, Mary Lacey, and her mother, Margaret Ballog of Glenview, in December 2004, begins Feb. 2 in a Skokie courtroom. James Degorski's murder trial begins on April 30 at Chicago's Criminal Courts Building, seven years after a former girlfriend implicated him in the 1993 murders of Michael Castro, Lynn and Richard Ehlenfeldt, Guadalupe Maldonado, Thomas Mennes, Marcus Nellsen and Rico Solis at a Palatine Brown's Chicken & Pasta. Degorski's co-defendant Juan Luna was convicted in 2007 of seven counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Chicago Urban League filed a school-funding lawsuit against the state, hoping that a new Illinois Civil Rights Act will persuade courts to take a school-funding question they've rejected considering for a decade. The lawsuit says that using property taxes to fund schools discriminates against low-income minority students, especially blacks and Hispanics.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <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>