Looking back on 2008 in the Tri-Cities

The eighth year into the new millennium generated some big news headlines in the Tri-Cities, with stories of St. Charles' first homicide in five years to coverage of volatile elections that would set the stage for years to come.

Here's a look back at some of the highlights in four topical categories.

Cops and crime

• Naromi N. Mannery, 28, of St. Charles, became the city's first homicide victim since 2003 after he was beaten and stabbed Sept. 22 on the 400 block of West Main Street. Three local carnival workers were arrested the next day and since have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

• Ten years after 21-year-old Geneva resident Brendon P. Anderson was shot and killed in Aurora, authorities announced the indictment of a former Aurora man accused of murdering Anderson and another man on March 16, 1998. Kane County prosecutors said ongoing forensic testing of unspecified evidence helped solve the decade-old case.

• A 17-year-old St. Charles North High School junior was critically injured Nov. 21 in St. Charles Township while playing a teen-organized game that awarded points for jumping from a vehicle moving 25 mph. The unusual case prompted prosecutors to convene a special grand jury to decide whether a crime had been committed. The jury was nixed without charges in December after the teen recovered and talked to police.

• Prominent pharmacist Mark L. Burger, 41, of Elburn was indicted Dec. 12 on charges he illegally obtained, possessed and sold prescription painkillers. Burger's arrest followed the unexpected closing of his family's pharmacy after 70 years in downtown St. Charles. Dozens of loyal customers expressed shock and disbelief.

• The Kane County State's Attorney's Office disclosed July 15 that a felony prosecutor had been suspended for not disclosing an affair she had with an Aurora police officer who testified in at least six cases she was assigned. Defense attorneys sought a review of the cases, four of which had resulted in guilty convictions.

At the polls

• With just 367 votes to spare, Campton Hills survived an attempt to dissolve the 1-year-old village by referendum Nov. 4. The dissolution effort was led by village opponents who said they preferred living in unincorporated Kane County and feared new government would bring new taxes.

• Geneva Democrat Bill Foster won a special election March 8 to fill the remaining 10 months of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert's seat in the 14th Congressional District. Foster toppled Sugar Grove dairy magnate Jim Oberweis in the special election and went on to defeat Oberweis again Nov. 4 for a two-year term in the office long held by Republicans.

• Batavia Park District voters turned down a tax referendum Nov. 4 to fund construction of a $36 million recreation center with fitness facilities and indoor and outdoor pools. The district had estimated one in 13 local households would purchase some sort of membership.

• Eight residents of the newly incorporated Campton Hills became the village's first elected leaders Feb. 5 in races that pitted more than a dozen village supporters and critics against each other. Those elected filled seats previously appointed by a judge.

• Sugar Grove Library District voters soundly rejected a referendum request Nov. 4 to increase the library's operating budget for the eighth time. The increase would have cost the owner of a $250,000 home about $85 more in its first year.

Around town

• mid-September rains flooded the Tri-Cities with 10 inches, causing the Fox River and other bodies of water to swell and wreak havoc on surrounding properties. It was the Chicago area's wettest month in 137 years.

• More than 500 inmates were relocated Aug. 30 to the new Kane County jail in St. Charles. It was one of the largest and most complex tactical operations in the county's history, involving some 150 law enforcement officials from across the region. The $56 million jail opened ahead of schedule and over capacity.

• The city of St. Charles' monumental First Street Redevelopment Project reached some notable milestones, including the March 7 opening of a new Blue Goose Super Market and the July 1 opening of a 430-space parking deck. The $105 million project, which consists of rebuilding six city blocks, is scheduled for completion in 2012.

• Facing across-the-board budget cuts and declining revenue in Kane County, the health department laid off 25 employees Nov. 30 for the first time in 16 years. A hiring freeze remains in place for all county departments.

• Archaeologists descended upon a St. Charles woman's historic home this spring after she stumbled across a basement room believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The find elicited claims of similar findings - some known for years - elsewhere in the city.

In our schools

• St. Charles School District 303 throughout the year held a series of monthly community meetings, which culminated Dec. 8 with a recommendation for the school board to pursue a nearly $300 million referendum request to renovate or rebuild schools. The board is expected to decide in January whether to ask voters for the money.

• For only the second time in history, the Geneva High School varsity football team played a state championship game Nov. 29 in Champaign. The Vikings made it to the Class 7A title game where they were defeated by East St. Louis, 33-14. The team's first and only other state championship game was in 1975.

• Tragedy struck Kaneland High School Dec. 11 when two seniors died in a one-car crash on their way to school. The crash that killed 17-year-olds Blake Denton and Jeff Malewig, both of Sugar Grove, remains under investigation.

• Citing the economy's downturn and late state funding payments, Kaneland School District 302 announced in December it could afford to operate only one middle school in the 2009-2011 school year. The move is expected to save the district about $1.3 million.

• Batavia High School was twice in mourning after the deaths of two 2004 graduates in separate accidents. Just two days before he was to graduate from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Ryan Rendleman died April 29 when his car was hit by a semitrailer in a Washington County construction zone. Then on June 8, former high school basketball standout Kevin Bryant, 21, was killed in a white water rafting accident in Fort Collins, Colo., just days after graduating from Illinois Weslyan College.

<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>