It's been a big news year in suburbs

The suburbs have witnessed a plethora of native sons and daughters do extraordinary things this year, as the Daily Herald's Kristen Menke outlined Friday.

In fact, in trying to develop a list of 10 of the most stunning suburban newsmakers, we had a challenge narrowing the list down. There have been a great many more than that who've become, as they say, the talk of the town.

Talk of the town? Many of the 10 on our list became the talk of the country this year.

Let's take a quick look at them in reverse-alphabetic order.

There's Joe Walsh of McHenry. What did the Tea Party Republican do? Pulled one of the biggest Congressional election upsets in the country by ousting Melissa Bean in the 8th District.

While Walsh was winning, Michael Ventrella gained national acclaim by losing. To be precise, he lost 264 pounds to win NBC's “The Biggest Loser” contest.

Meanwhile, Scott Tolzien, a 2006 Fremd graduate from Rolling Meadows, quarterbacked the Wisconsin Badgers to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 11 years.

Lt. Matt Spartz of Lombard became a guest columnist with the Daily Herald to provide a voice, not often heard in the newspaper, of a soldier on the front lines.

Hannah Perryman of Elgin led a successful campaign to change the state's stalking laws. “Hannah's Law” makes it much easier for stalking victims to gain orders of protection.

The news created by Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller of Wheaton was more inspirational than cheerful. In a ceremony at the White House, his parents received his posthumous Medal of Honor for valor in saving his unit in the Afghanistan firefight that cost Miller his life in 2008.

Sexual abuse victim Erin Merryn of Schaumburg was successful in a campaign to pass a law on sex abuse education. “Erin's Law” creates a program for schools to teach students to speak up to protect themselves from abuse.

Evan Lysacek of Naperville not only won the Olympic gold in men's figure skating but then competed to a second-place finish on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Yvonne Dinwiddie spotted a legal notice of Batavia Park District plans to quietly borrow $20 million to build a recreation center and organized a petition drive to put the issue on the November ballot, where it was voted down.

And of course, then, there's Lee DeWyze of Mount Prospect. He became a national celebrity by winning “American Idol.”

Ten suburban newsmakers. Each of them remarkable. Of those 10, who was most remarkable?

You tell us. Help select the Daily Herald Suburban Newsmaker of the Year by e-mailing personofyear@dailyherald.com with your vote.