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For better or worse Some of the people who made news here in the Northwest suburbs this year.

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New Stephens in mayor's chair

Bradley Stephens in May stepped into the seat his father held for a half century after the death of longtime Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens.

Ascending from his spot as a village trustee, Bradley Stephens vowed to keep running things the way his father would have.

"Not a lot's going to change. Dad and I didn't agree on everything and I think that's one of the things he appreciated about me (but) ... there's going to be no great changes in the village staff and policies," he said in May.

In September, he appeared to channel his late father as he floated the village's Rosemont Theatre as a potential site for a state-run casino.

"It's sitting on the table there for them," he said of the offer to state officials.

Three years ago, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan stopped plans for a Rosemont casino in part due to concerns about alleged mob ties to the village.

"Enough of that stuff. If there were problems with the associations that my dad had, my dad's gone," he said in September. "Are we happy about that? Absolutely not. I miss my father every ... day."

Brown's verdict after 14 years

Nearly 14 years ago, Juan Luna walked into the Palatine Brown's Chicken intending to "do something big."

He did just that, a jury concluded May 10 in a courtroom packed with seven weeping families.

As the first "guilty" rose from a court clerk's throat, Luna removed his glasses to dab tears from his eyes.

"We as families can finally exhale from this long emotional nightmare," said Jennifer Shilling, the oldest daughter of store owners and murder victims Lynn and Richard Ehlenfeldt.

Prosecutors had charged Luna and his high school friend James Degorski with killing seven people inside the restaurant on Jan. 8, 1993. Degorski still faces trial.

Dawn rises above dad

It's hard for anyone to outdo Buffalo Grove atheist activist Rob Sherman in finding ways to garner publicity for his cause.

This year, however, his 14-year-old daughter Dawn just may have done it.

In September, Dawn asked to have "God Bless America" removed from the song list at the Buffalo Grove High School Homecoming. The student council agreed, sparking a barrage of letters and...

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