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2004 Top Stories of the Year.

Article Excerpt
A bitter presidential election divided the country, then reunited us again after we had our say at the polls.

Even if they weren't our team, we celebrated the Boston Red Sox World Series win.

Just about everybody seemed to be talking about "Desperate Housewives" as if they, too, were living on Wisteria Lane.

And war in Iraq waged on.

But the stories from our village halls, school boards and neighborhoods are the ones that hit closest to home.

These stories tell us whether our taxes are rising, if our communities are changing and give us a little more insight into the unusual things going on around us in DuPage County.

Action on downtown Winfield:

Winfield officials created the village's first special taxing district in July to spur redevelopment of its ailing downtown. A temporary banking center built by Winfield Community Bank in May became the first development the area had seen in two years. The village board finally saw a proposed retail and commercial building in November on the site of a shuttered gas station, which came to symbolize the dormant nature of its downtown development.

Addison schools to get revamped:

Addison voters approved a $25 million referendum in March to add technology, and renovate eight of the elementary schools in Addison District 4. Work also would alleviate traffic problems at some schools. Work on the schools will begin the summer of 2005.

Argonne in two-way race:

Argonne National Laboratory enlisted the help of some powerful friends in its bid to bring a $1 billion project to the region.

The institution is now part of a lobbying team that includes U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Federation of Labor and U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert. The team will seek to persuade the Department of Energy to award Argonne a contract to build a rare isotope accelerator at its facility near Darien.

The accelerator allows scientists to break down elements such as uranium and provides insight into medical and defense research. Michigan State University in East Lansing is also a rival for the project that would create 400 permanent jobs plus hire 16,000 construction workers.

Baskin to leave District 89:

Longtime Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 Superintendent Larry Baskin announced he'll retire at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. The school board embarks on a search for his replacement.

Bensenville lands games:

In June, Bensenville was named host city for the 2005, 2006 and...