Storms lead 2007 local news front

As we huddled in the concrete stairwells of the Daily Herald Office Center during a severe storm warning the afternoon of Aug. 23, we had no idea of the devastation that would face us when we emerged.

Calls quickly poured in from photographers, reporters and citizens, documenting the damage.

Already, earlier rains had swollen the waters of the Des Plaines River until it spilled over its banks. That afternoon's strong winds and heavy rains felled hundreds of trees, snapped power lines and upped the ante for homeowners battling the rapidly rising tide of the river.

Massive efforts by officials and volunteers limited the flood damage, but suburban residents were forced to scale down their 21st century lifestyles in the face of widespread power outages that lasted for days and left them with spoiled food and flooded basements.

Cook County was among the ones to be declared a federal disaster area, clearing towns and residents to apply for money to help reimburse them for the mounting cleanup costs.

Here's a look at some of the other events that kept your communities in the news this year:

January

• John Mangel, who has owned buildings in Long Grove for more than 40 years, sold 12 of his businesses to Green Courte Partners. Mangel continues to run those businesses, including the Long Grove Confectionery branch. Many of Long Grove's festivals were started because of the confectionery's products. Mangel said he would continue his presence in town. The village hailed the sale as a step toward renovating downtown.

February

• A new state law prompted by a Des Plaines crossing guard that increases the penalty for drivers who disregard crossing guards takes effect June 2008. Local legislators pushed for the law after hearing from crossing guard Andy Samborski in February.

March

• Arlington Park Racecourse agreed to build more housing for its workers, settling a lawsuit brought by a fair housing group and the U.S. attorney's office. The racecourse will construct a new building containing 48 units, each with 225 square feet of space, private bathrooms and air conditioning, said Jeffrey Taren, the attorney for HOPE Fair Housing Center Inc.

April

• After a bitter campaign, three Northwest Suburban High School District 214 incumbents won re-election. Alva Kreutzer, Bill Dussling and Bob Zimmanck bested their competitors by several thousand votes. Challengers, who took a conservative stance on what books should be on the district's reading list, netted backing from former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis and conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly.

• Cook County Circuit Court Judge Marsha D. Hayes ruled against a ballot question asking voters if they wanted to prohibit retail alcohol sales in their precinct. Some residents of the nearby Forest River subdivision wanted to declare their precinct dry with a majority vote in the April election. The petition listed the two bars by common name instead of their corporate names, leading to the ruling.

• Randhurst Shopping Center representatives presented plans to gut the first enclosed regional mall in the Chicago area, built in 1962. It's heading toward being converted into a mixed-use lifestyle center. Apartments, a hotel and retail stores will comprise Randhurst Village, which is expected to break ground next summer. Although Randhurst has seen recent success along its perimeter, with such stores as Costco, officials have acknowledged that the core is fading. While the anchor stores will remain, the malls 80 small stores will be gutted for the lifestyle center.

May

• The Arlington Heights village board cut ties with Target and gave new hope to International Plaza tenants. With a unanimous vote, the board terminated a deal to build a 174,000-square-foot SuperTarget store at Golf and Arlington Heights roads. The deal would have reimbursed Target up to $19 million with proceeds from a tax-increment financing district. The board cited a lapse of time due to pending lawsuits filed by people opposing the redevelopment scheme, increased costs and changing economic conditions as to why the deal fell through.

June

• The Buffalo Grove Park District formally dedicated the Buddy Baseball field. Kendrigan Field has been many years coming and includes a surface made out of rubber so that those in wheelchairs can use the field rain or shine.

• Authorities assert John Tomkins, a machinist and former part-time mail carrier, is the man who sent 17 threatening parcels to financial institutions across the country over the last two years, some signed with the moniker "The Bishop." The mailings included two dud pipe bombs sent in January from the Rolling Meadows post office. Though eight mailings were sent or received in the suburbs -- including from the Palatine post office and to addresses in Naperville and Barrington Hills -- officials say Tomkins has no known connection to the area. He was arrested on his way to work in Dubuque, Iowa, where he'd lived for the last 20 years.

August

• Five-year-old Israel Hernandez died from burns suffered after knocking over a turkey fryer Aug. 26 in the driveway at his Wheeling home. The community rallied around the family and Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 -- where Israel attended school -- started a fund to help the family, which later wrote a letter thanking the community.

September

• The Chicago Executive Airport, co-owned by Wheeling and Prospect Heights, went through a major shift when a series of important players resigned. Kevin Dohm, the chairman, resigned on Sept. 13 after others on the board questioned the work he had been doing with John Kennedy of Airport Corp. of America, an airport consultant. L. James Wylie, the vice-chairman, resigned a few weeks later. Dohm's resignation came a day before Prospect Heights Mayor Rodney Pace said he was leaving his job for medical reasons. Wheeling Village President Greg Klatecki had stepped down from that job earlier in the year, also citing medical problems. The mayors of the two towns appoint the chairman. Since then, tensions have continue to flare. Most recently, Prospect Heights sent a letter to Wheeling accusing the village manager of acting out of his purview. Manager Mark Rooney vehemently denied that and Wheeling fired back that two appraisals for land that Prospect Heights sold to the airport were kept under wraps, while two appraisals that were $4 million higher were used to set the price.

• After months of delay, construction widening Route 22 through Buffalo Grove, Long Grove and Lincolnshire was finally completed in time for Labor Day. Buffalo Grove shop owners and Long Grove residents had a list of complaints against the beleaguered project, including safety issues and the fact that shops were suffering because drivers avoided the area. The two-lane road now is four lanes, giving some traffic relief to the area.

• Citing unspecified health issues, Prospect Heights Mayor Rodney Pace unexpectedly resigned in September, ending his five years in office. Shortly after, Alderman Pat Ludvigsen become acting mayor. Voters elected the 49-year-old Pace to his second term in April, when he defeated Kurt Giehler and longtime foil Gerald Anderson. Health problems weren't new for Pace, as he made an extended six-week hospital visit during his second year in office. He was first elected in 2003.

October

• Mount Prospect's sleek new downtown Blues Bar opened with a beat-up looking 1974 Mount Prospect police car, reminiscent of the famous "Blues Brothers" movie, on the second floor as the focal point. Other features include a music stage, a 16-by-9-foot television screen suspended above the bar and a two-story mural featuring famous Chicago blues singers.

November

• A $100 million auto mall was approved, with Arlington Heights getting 1 percent of the total revenue in sales tax, which figures out to be $3 million per year. The Bob Rohrman Auto Group wants to move the following dealerships to the northwest corner of Dundee Road and Kennicott Avenue in north Arlington Heights: Arlington Lexus, 1285 E. Dundee Road in Palatine; Arlington Dodge in Palatine, 1400 E. Dundee Road in Palatine; and Arlington Chrysler Jeep, 925 W. Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove. Plans also include a spot for another dealership to open sometime in the future. The auto mall is expected to employ more than 500 people and have 3,256 parking spaces. All the dealerships will open in November 2008.

• The Buffalo Grove Park District debuted its new Veterans Memorial in time for Veterans Day. The $275,000 project includes black granite monuments to honor the five branches of the military and bricks dedicated to those who have served in wars.

• With a six-year campaign, the Mount Prospect Historical Society raised the $150,000 needed to relocate the endangered 1896 Central School in Mount Prospect. Donors can expect to see the one-room frame schoolhouse rolling down the street to its new location sometime this winter or next spring. More than 650 families, businesses and organizations in 11 states donated.