Reporter's Notebook: The Most Interesting Stories of 2011

I put a lot of “pen to paper” as a Patch freelancer this year. It was hard to whittle down which stories I found interesting, fascinating and sobering. Some made me think or shake my head; others made me smile. Let’s get to it:

Affordable Housing in the Comcast Building
For months the and then the in Oak Park debated the merits of turning the long-vacant building on Madison Street into 51 units of housing for the working poor and the disabled. The project was approved. What made it interesting to me was the contrast — the value of versus the Not In My Backyard concerns over , density and will end up living in the building. The state turned down the developers the Interfaith Housing Development Corp. and the Oak Park Housing Authority's for state funding; what's next is uncertain.

There are times when reporters get to have fun, and this was one of them. I must admit I didn’t know that Oak Parkers could have until I attended a workshop at the But once I started talking to Jennifer Murtoff (aka the Urban Chicken Consultant), who led the workshop, and interviewed owners did I truly find out a lot about these fascinating animals and their idiosyncrasies.

It’s heartwarming when people are empowered to do good, remember a national tragedy and throw a great party at the same time. on the 700 block of Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest again was the focal point of as area residents stopped by to sip lemon aid, eat popcorn and cookies, chat and raise money for the Thrive Counseling Center — this year’s event raised more than $13,000. This was the 10th year of the community charity gathering, which began as a way of turning the observance of 9-11 into a celebration of solidarity. And River Forest gave the 700 block an designation, which was celebrated at this year's event.

More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its strong , Oak Park is still wrestling with what to do to restrict ownership, require education or limit gun shops by means of zoning. The village board turned over the first step to the board of health, and that group might not finish its work until early in 2012. Meanwhile, one person has a shop where people who buy their rifles and shotguns online can pick them up. Residents expressed over safety and wondered if this would make it more difficult to put gun shop zoning limits and others in place.

District 97 Referendum
Oak Park Elementary District 97 voters the first education rate tax hike in years this April but almost immediately an anti-tax group sought to the results. Taxpayers United of America claimed that language on the April 5 election ballot intentionally misled voters about the impact of the referendum on their property taxes and that the district failed to use the equalizer in determining the real cost to the taxpayers. Residents backed the district and filed a . TUA's arguments were tossed out by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mikva when she ruled TUA in early July. An of the decision is pending.

This Patch series aimed to hold the accountable for spending after the 2005 tax increase. Well, what did I learn? The park district is accountable – and then some. From studying the extensive master plans and other documents, I found that the park district’s stewardship over taxpayer money is credible and commendable.

I love history. I believe I cannot really understand where a community is going until I learn about its past. This story was an exploration of the struggles Oak Park went through before it adopted its landmark fair housing ordinance. This story also gave me a better sense of the community as it examined whether to allow an affordable housing project in town.

I must admit that I love . Why? I find censorship a curious thing and wonder why ideas make people want to control them. Every year I look at the list of books that libraries and schools want to take off the shelves, and this year I asked myself whether Oak Park and River Forest have ever had to wrestle with that. Fortunately I found that the libraries and the schools have handled any issues of censorship (there have been very few) with tact. It’s also a week to celebrate the printed word and the power that words can exude, which I guess is why some want to ban them in the first place.

Crime
I find covering crime interesting, fascinating and scary. The more I know what happens in my neighborhood and the more I speak with local cops, the more I understand the dos and don'ts of keeping my possessions safe. I also wonder, too, about the motives of people who want to burglarize homes and garages, steal from stores, beat up people in robberies and even murder others. I chalk it all up to my curiosity about human nature. Also the more I speak with the police the more respect I have for them and what they do.

I’m still processing the President’s speech at National Harbor Maryland nearly two weeks ago. My views haven’t changed; but I’d love to speak with any of you who've had a chance to hear it on whitehouse.gov.

After weeks of meetings, the board decided to its open campus lunch policy, keeping it open for juniors and seniors only. Some parents expressed concerns over keeping the kids away from drugs and liquor; others wondered if it would have that effect. What kind of an effect will the policy have on students? Stay tuned!