Shooting, mayor's death, referendum among the year's top stories
It was a tough year in DeKalb County. It was the year we saw unthinkable tragedy at Northern Illinois University, lost DeKalb Mayor Frank Van Buer to cancer and felt the effects of the global economic downturn.
But it was also the year Sycamore celebrated its sesquicentennial, saw the successful passage of a referendum for the DeKalb School District and, tonight, cheered on the NIU Huskies football team as they played in the Independence Bowl.
Here are the Top 10 stories of the year for DeKalb County, as voted on by the newsroom staff of the Daily Chronicle.
1. Feb. 14 shooting at NIU
It was a Thursday.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Feb. 14, former NIU student Steven Kazmierczak, 27, walked into room 101 in Cole Hall and opened fire, killing five students and injuring at least 16 others before turning the gun on himself.
Lost 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. Kazmierczak’s motive for the attack remains a mystery.
But despite heartbreak, the NIU and greater DeKalb-Sycamore communities united like never before in the hours, days, weeks and months after the shooting.
Classes were canceled, memorial ceremonies were scheduled, and candlelight vigils illuminated many nights. Community members did what they could, packaging cookies to hand out to students the first day classes resumed and opening their homes to students.
Forward, Together Forward – a line from the NIU Huskie Fight Song – became the campus mantra echoed by such university officials as President John Peters.
When classes resumed at NIU, 10,000 students were displaced by the closure of Cole Hall, the future of which is still uncertain. But classes went on, with students returning intent on completing their studies.
A Forward, Together Forward Scholarship Fund has raised more than $600,000, all from unsolicited donations. The first scholarships from the fund will be given out Feb. 14, 2009, in memory of the five who were killed. And a February 14th Memorial Committee was established to create a memorial that would honor those slain.
– Carrie Frillman
2. Loss of DeKalb Mayor Frank Van Buer
On July 23, 2008, DeKalb lost a mayor and a friend.
DeKalb Mayor Frank Van Buer died at his home that morning following a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 74.
Friends and community leaders remembered his legacy as mayor, a position he held since May 2005, as striving for a better DeKalb. Many of the dozens of people interviewed in the days and weeks after his death would remember him as a visionary, championing the revitalization of the city's downtown.
Though his public service and career in economics gave him many life experiences, Van Buer's family was the real sparkle of his life, friends said. He left behind a wife, Mary Beth, three children and seven grandchildren. The Monday after his death, at a city council meeting, Mary Beth Van Buer asked aldermen to continue 'Frank's vision.'
His funeral was held Aug. 4 at St. Mary Church in DeKalb, with a crowded sanctuary mourning the loss of a life dedicated to family and community. Military rites were performed to honor his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.
An acting mayor was selected among aldermen the next week. Second Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen was appointed by the city council to finish out Van Buer's term, which ends in April 2009.
– Elena Grimm
3. Presidential election
Many words have been used to describe the 2008 presidential election.
A roller coaster ride. Unlike any other. Unexpected. And all of it captured the interest of Americans nationwide.
It was one of the longest campaign seasons, as Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama battled for months for the party's nomination. By early June, Obama had won enough votes in primaries to become the nominee.
While Republican nominee John McCain had secured his position early on, his Aug. 29 announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate caused a media frenzy. Little was known about her, and everything was put under the microscope, including her clothes, her family and her stances on issues.
No matter which party was elected, it was going to be a first-ever situation. If the Democrats won, it would be the first time an African-American would be elected to the highest office. If the Republicans won, it would have been the first time a woman was elected to the office of vice president.
It culminated Nov. 4, when Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, was elected president, winning 53 percent of the popular vote. He is set to be sworn in as the nation's 44th president on Jan. 20.
– Kate Schott
4. Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrested on corruption charges
The Dec. 9 arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has affected all Illinois residents.
The governor is accused of trying to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's open U.S. Senate seat, withholding state money from a children's hospital because an executive didn't give him a campaign donation and other wrongdoing.
The arrest of a sitting governor on federal corruption charges quickly made the state the butt of jokes on late-night and comedy television shows.
What's not funny is the impact the fallout has had on residents. The state is facing a $2.5 billion budget deficit, and a leader in whom many residents and other lawmakers have no trust. Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said the state incurred $20 million in extra interest because the state couldn't quickly borrow money to pay overdue bills.
And this is far from over. The effects of these charges will reach far into 2009.
– Kate Schott
5. DeKalb School District passes $110 million referendum
It took four attempts in six years by the DeKalb School District, but voters finally gave the go-ahead Feb. 5, 2008, for a construction referendum.
The successful $110 million referendum will help alleviate overcrowding at district schools by allowing the district to build a new high school and elementary school and renovating existing schools.
Efforts to pass the referendum included a two-month ReNew Our Schools Committee campaign, 1,500 “vote yes” yard signs, $30,000 in donated funds and numerous volunteer hours.
The referendum will tack on about $280 to the tax bill of a resident who owns a $200,000 home for the 2008 tax year, administrators said in December.
The district broke ground in October on a new elementary school in Cortland’s Chestnut Grove subdivision. It will open for the 2009-2010 academic year. Planning is under way for the new high school, which will open in 2012.
– Carrie Frillman
6. Keslinger Road bridge collapses
The bridge was old, but it passed its last inspection without a hitch.
But Aug. 19, the eight timber piles that had held up the small township bridge on Keslinger Road buckled, splitting the concrete deck in two as it plunged into the Kishwaukee River.
No one was on the bridge, which crosses the river between First Street and Anderland Road in Afton Township, when it collapsed. The cause is still unknown, and county leaders and residents, especially those living near the bridge, have demanded answers.
Those answers require patience.
In October, the bridge site was a hubbub of activity. Experts from the Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation, along with a team of University of Illinois engineers, were at the site to lift the broken pieces and begin an investigation funded by IDOT.
The U of I took back some pieces for analysis and has built a model of the bridge. They're in the process of "destroying" it to re-create what could have caused its demise. A report should be released by mid-February.
– Elena Grimm
7. Economic downturn affects DeKalb County
DeKalb County was not immune from the recession that tore into the global economy in 2008, as the local unemployment rate jumped from 4.4 percent in November 2007 to 6.1 percent in November 2008. Local companies tightened belts and laid off employees, and demand on local charities soared.
The number of DeKalb County families needing food assistance jumped 42 percent between December 2007 and December 2008, according to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Development plans, including an approximately 35,000-square-foot addition to the DeKalb Target store, were put on hold, and the West Irving Die Casting plant in Sandwich closed, putting 175 people out of work.
Local families felt the pinch of high gasoline prices over the summer and rising grocery prices throughout the year. Public libraries saw an increase in patronage as frugal consumers opted to check out books and movies instead of buying new. Tailors and resale shops also saw a boon in business as budgets for new clothes and household items shrank.
– Dana Herra
8. Sycamore celebrates its sesquicentennial
It was a birthday party that lasted more than half a year.
Planning started early in 2008 as Sycamore celebrated its sesquicentennial this year. Organizers made sure there were numerous events to celebrate the occasion.
A sesquicentennial weekend celebration was held in May, which included a 4-by-8-foot birthday cake, as well as picnics and music. It culminated Nov. 22 with a ball celebrating the city's 150 years. A time capsule was filled in early November with papers and items important to the city, so those opening the capsule 50 years from now will have insight into what Sycamore was like in 2008.
They also took time to look back at 150 years of the city. There were the hard times – like the 1870 fire that almost leveled the town. And then there are the traits that have persevered for more than a century and made Sycamore what it is.
“Sycamore has always been a community-oriented town,” Sycamore Historical Society and Museum Executive Director Michelle Donahoe said in May. “People have always found ways to work together and help each other out. That's just an important part of the community. It's ingrained in the people who live here, and I definitely see that continuing.”
– Kate Schott
9. Flooding in September again affects residents
DeKalb County felt the effects of the 2008 hurricane season in September, as days of heavy rain Sept. 13 and 14 dropped at least 5 inches of rain in most of DeKalb and up to 10 inches in Waterman, Shabbona and Hinckley, leading to flooding throughout the county. Though the flooding was not nearly as severe as in 2007, it still caused plenty of headaches for homeowners and local officials.
Among the hardest hit, for the second year in a row, was the Evergreen Village Mobile Home Park east of Sycamore, which was evacuated for about three days during the worst of the flooding. About 120 trailers flooded in the park, and more than 100 residents went to an emergency shelter which was set up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John by the DeKalb County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The county was one of nine Illinois counties declared a federal disaster area after the flood. As of Dec. 21, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved more than $69 million in aid to Illinois, about $473,075 of which was approved for DeKalb County.
– Dana Herra
10. NIU heads to a bowl game
No one gave the Northern Illinois football team a chance.
After a loss to Navy at the close of the regular season, the Huskies had a 6-6 record and were likely to be one of the few bowl-eligible teams left at home for bowl season.
But after a handful of key teams lost and NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher and Deputy Athletic Director Glen Krupica marketed the Huskies wisely to a variety of bowl games, NIU accepted a bid to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
The bowl game marked the third time in the past five years that Northern Illinois made it to a bowl, and it was the first bowl appearance for first-year NIU head coach Jerry Kill.
The Huskies faced the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Sunday night.
– John Sahly