It had taken Brittany Blue, 18, of Streamwood about 45 minutes to dress in her long, black prom gown, pull her short blond hair half up and put on her makeup - the light-colored foundation, the dark eye shadow, the fake blood splashed across her neck.

Brittany was one of nine South Elgin High School seniors who took part in a reenactment of an alcohol-related car accident late last month in the school's outdoor stadium, part of an assembly about the dangers of drinking and driving on prom night.

The assembly had been a "blur," said Brittany, who had played dead during the reenactment, stretched across the hood of one of two smashed cars.

"I couldn't open my eyes. I could just hear things. I was moving, I was moving and then I was in a body bag," she said.

Afterward, the seniors peeled off fake flesh and prom attire in the high school dressing room as they dressed for the rest of the school day. They talked about the upcoming South Elgin prom, held this Saturday at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center, about graduation, about their last days spent together as a class - no less of a blur than the morning assembly had been.

"(Prom) is a lot of fun, but you have to be willing to spend money on it," said Mike Favia, 18, Bartlett.

He said he'd pay at least $300 for prom, including $150 for a pair of tickets and about $100 for a tuxedo rental, with a blue tie to match his date's dress - "a big thing here." If he wants to go in on a "party bus" with friends, he said, that will be another $100. And that's not to mention what he'll pay for a trip with classmates to the Wisconsin Dells the day after prom.

South Elgin Principal Melanie Meidel put that number closer to $500.

That's still pretty conservative compared to the average price nationwide a couple will pay for prom this year: $1,078, according to a survey of about 700 readers of Seventeen Prom and TeenPROM magazines last year and additional research by USA TODAY. Most of that will go toward the prom dress ($231) and rented tux ($127, plus another $100 for a tie, cummerbund and shoes).

Micalena Mikhail, 18, of South Elgin said she spent about $500 on her dress -- "I didn't have to get alterations, though."

"You just want to feel special," Micalena said.

And Brittany said, "When you look back at your high school photos, you want to look good."

That cost is one of many things Meidel said has "changed a lot" about prom since she was a senior attending the event in her high school gym. And that's something that's the same across all of the Fox Valley, echoed by residents who attended prom 34, 47 years ago.

For their memories of proms past, read this past weekend's Storyteller, No matter the year or circumstances, prom brings night to remember.

For more ways prom has changed, and become more dangerous, over the years, read Judges tell teens: Bad decisions can make prom a time of regret.

Does the biggest cheating scandal in American history, uncovered last year, have you worried teachers are cheating on student test scores in your schools?

That scandal was exposed in 2011, after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's analyzed standardized test scores in Atlanta schools. That led to findings of widespread cheating in Atlanta schools and a state investigation in Georgia. Investigators then put the finger on about 180 teachers and administrators, some of whom confessed to altering test papers, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

This weekend, The Atlanta Journal Constitution did it again, collecting and analyzing standardized test scores not just for Atlanta schools, but for 69,000 public schools across the country. The whole thing is fascinating, and it uncovered test scores in hundreds of cities that followed a pattern that, in Atlanta, had indicated cheating in multiple schools.

You can search the newspaper's database of school districts' test-score shifts here, but I'm guessing there mostly are two school districts in whose results you are interested: Elgin School District U46 and Community Unit School District 300.

So should you be worried about your schools cheating on their standardized test scores? Find out, after the jump!

Last night's School District U46 Board of Education meeting was standing room only -- a little unusual for a meeting at which the school board is not expected to make any controversial decisions.

(Although, one public commenter did question whether Superintendent Jose Torres' recent trip to China had been taxpayer-funded. Answer: Here, in today's cover story, "U46 schools chief gathers food for thought during trip to China.")

It appears a good chunk of that crowd had turned out to hear two middle school students speak about the successes they've had in the Elgin school district's AVID program.

Lest you think your comments fell on deaf ears, girls... Or were you left wanting to learn more about AVID, grown-ups... I wrote at length about the program last school year. That article no longer is available online, so I've posted it, in full, after the jump.

Click here to read "Program creating ' AVID' learners," more information about school board meeting coverage on Twitter, after the jump.

This was my pick for the Courier's year-end "Faces of 2011" series. Certainly the biggest story I covered this past year was the teacher layoffs (363 in one meeting!) and battle against legislation to extend the Sears EDA in Community Unit School District 300 -- all part of Superintendent Michael Bregy's first year at the head of the suburban Chicago school district.

Here's a look back at how that story unfolded in a long list of articles, dating from this spring, when the school district first began organizing against that legislation, to the vote last month to this week's restrospective on Bregy's first year...

D300: Sears talks ignore student needs
D300 won't give up Sears tax dollars without a fight
D300 to Hoffman Estates: 'You haven't seen anything yet'
D300 resolution 'adamantly opposes' tax break for Sears
How tax breaks for Sears EDA would affect Sears, D300, U46, ECC and Hoffman Estates
Rally emboldens D300 in battle over Sears EDA
D300 goes to Springfield
D300, senator propose compromises on Sears tax break
Dist. 300 eyes next steps in Sears tax break battle

D300 to fight against latest, 'horrible' Sears tax break bill
School tax limit nixed; D300 keeps eye on Sears proposals
District 300's still in the game over fate of Sears EDA
Votes on Sears EDA bills delayed again
D300 superintendent recounts week in Springfield
ECC weighs in on EDA bills; D300, HE, Sears finally meet
D300 still at the table with Sears, HE over EDA bill

D300 sees key points in EDA bill
D300 satisfied with Sears incentive bill changes

D300 deal with Sears, Hoffman Estates remains 'resolved'
D300, Sears, Hoffman Estates react to impasse in over competing legislation
D300 'actively monitoring' expected vote on Sears EDA legislation Monday
Sears EDA bill passes House
D300 reacts to House vote, recognizes community support

Sears EDA bill passes, heads to Quinn to sign
Your reax to Sears EDA passing both House and Senate (Between the Bylines)
New Dist. 300 superintendent has trial by teacher layoffs, Sears deal

The Sears EDA story in video, after the jump.

Happy 2012!

We've got a lot to look forward to this year, Mayan apocalypse notwithstanding. But first, let's take a look back at the year that was.

Here's a list of the articles in our "Faces of 2011" series, in which we reporters pick the local people who made news -- or best illustrated what made news -- in the past year. Read on, then vote in our poll below for the biggest local news story of 2011. Ready... set...

Read...

• Marengo resident Amanda Schulten carries conjoined twins


• New District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy battles teacher layoffs, Sears legislation


• Allen Pollack breathes life into new community radio station in Huntley


• Mary Lake takes volunteering in Burlington to new level


• Joe Follrath and Suzanne Pfaff close downtown Elgin Quiznos in another tough year to be in business


• Killing of 5-year-old Eric Galarza Jr. brings horror of Elgin shootings home


• Pingree Grove Police Chief Carol Lussky and dog ready to help after Joplin tornado


• Mayor Dave Kaptain takes the helm in Elgin


• Cancer deaths of Pat Keeney, Steve Munson and Victor Gonzalez made year difficult for Elgin downtowners

And vote!

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

It's all over.

After three months of discussion since the veto session started in October and three different bills (with seemingly countless amendments), legislation to extend the economic development area around Sears Holdings Corp. headquarters in Hoffman Estates passed both the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate this week. It goes now to Gov. Pat Quinn to sign, which he has indicated he plans to do.

Except that Community Unit School District 300 said yesterday it isn't over.

You can read more of the Carpentersville-area school district's reaction to the legislation's passage in my article, "Sears EDA bill passes, heads to Quinn to sign." Or watch District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy's reaction to its passage first in the House in the video below:

I also got a number of reactions yesterday from our readers on both my personal Twitter profile and The Courier-News' Twitter and Facebook profiles. Here's what you had to say:

@MaryFioretti (Mary Fioretti of Algonquin): while our leadership had to compromise, it still is regrettable that D300's portion of the property taxes pay ... $5 million and $350,000 for a legal defense fund. H.E. takes on obligations that they must pay for then runs to the State to ... extend their free ride. Government MUST CHANGE. If D300 had not intervened, this would have been worse. And Em you've ... written about all those things. Very dissappointed (sic) in State leadership allowing property taxes to be stripped from 21K kids posted Tuesday on Twitter

@AliGoebbert (Ali Goebbert of "Chicago area"): A loathsome precedent was just set by the state of IL in the passing of SB397. D300 carries the burden of keeping Sears here. posted Tuesday on Twitter

@katzmeow66 (Kathleen Burley of Algonquin): sad day in Illinois taking education property tax money from children to keep a failing company in Illinois. ... Hoffman Estates will now receive close to $2 million more than they would get if there were NO EDA in place! posted Tuesday on Twitter

More reader reactions, after the jump.

The day after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's sentencing to 14 years in prison, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka told The Courier-News, "I just want him to go away."

Topinka had been the Republican candidate for governor against Blagojevich in the 2006 elections, making her the last person to run against him for office. She was elected comptroller this year.

On Thursday, she was at Elgin Community College to host an employment expo. (Read The Courier-News' coverage of that event: "Elgin college expo attracts hundreds of jobseekers.")

"This man (Blagojevich) already has impacted my life way too long, and the lives of the people of the state of Illinois too long, and what's sad is because of what he's done and how he has conducted business, or lack thereof, in the state of Illinois, we're going to be paying for this guy's bills for another generation. It's going to be costing everyone," she said.

The comptroller called many of the programs pushed by the former governor "at best, a photo op" and said, "They never were paid for. We never had the money to begin with."

In June, Blagojevich was convicted of 18 corruption convictions that included attempting to sell Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. He accepted responsibility for his crimes Wednesday and apologized in court, saying, "I am just so incredibly sorry."

Afterward, he made a brief statement, quoting Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If": ""If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same."

Topinka said she didn't feel his apology was "for real," though she said, "I feel very badly for his children -- but you know what? -- he should have taken them into consideration on the front end. Maybe he should have spent less time memorizing English literature, and more time really governing."

"It's still all about him. He said, 'We're going to fight this adversity.' He's still defiant. The hubris and the arrogance is still there, and so it goes."

Read a transcript of Topinka's full remarks to The Courier-News, after the jump.

When, as a reporter, you hear the words "Stress-Free Zone," you have but one response. And that response is, "Yes."

"Yes, I will go to there and cover that -- and maybe never come back."

This is how I found myself in a chair massaging my back and legs, my hands wrapped in paraffin wax, in the Jobe Lounge at Elgin Community College. Or, as it was dubbed this morning, the Stress-Free Zone.

The Stress-Free Zone is an event put on by the College Programming Board just before finals every year at the community college. (You can learn more about it in my article in Thursday's Courier-News.)

I don't usually take part in the events I cover. But this one featured "oxygen therapy," and that was something I thought I sort of had to experience to write about. Also, it seemed like something blog-worthy, because, while I've been hearing about oxygen bars for years, I've never actually seen one. Have you?

Campus Spa, which provided the treatment at Elgin Community College's Stress-Free Zone, points to information about the benefits of oxygen therapy from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute on its website:

"(Oxygen therapy can allow people to) function better and be more active. Oxygen therapy can help in various ways. It may help: Decrease shortness of breath and fatigue (tiredness), Improve sleep in some people who have sleep-related breathing disorders, [and] Increase the lifespan of some people who have COPD."

The treatment at the Stress-Free Zone wasn't a true oxygen bar, the Campus Spa representative told me. A true oxygen bar pumps something like 95 percent oxygen at your face, she said. This was maybe 30 percent oxygen and mostly to convey a citrus scent, since, you know, you can't exactly scent the entire Jobe Lounge with relaxing aromatherapy candles. The scent was dispersed through a little apparatus that looks like one of those hands-free headsets for your cell phone.

Holly Grimm of South Elgin, one of the students in line ahead of me at the Stress-Free Zone, said it smelled a little bit like menthol. "It's supposed to give you extra power," she said.

I thought it smelled like orange Pez, and it dried out my contact lenses. That's not to say it wasn't an entirely enjoyable and therapeutic experience: After all, it was accompanied by the back and leg massage and paraffin wax hand treatment. And there's something to be said for just taking a minute to sit still, to be quiet and to just breathe.

Oxygen therapy? Hand treatments? What do you do to relax and de-stress?

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

This is the first Thanksgiving my husband and I are doing all the cooking for his family -- together, at least.

He's cooked Thanksgiving dinner for his family once before. My prior Thanksgiving dinner cooking experience involves my parents dressing me up as a pilgrim in a costume I'd made from construction paper at preschool and letting me stuff the turkey. I was 4.

We froze about 50 acorn squash-stuffed pierogi earlier this week and pulled a loaf of French bread out of the oven late last night. Now we're debating slow-roasting the turkey vs. roasting it kamikaze-style at, like, 600 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Because there are all kinds of food safety things to keep in mind, what with raw meat and the stuffing cooking inside.

Foodborne illnesses -- with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea and flu-like symptoms that can appear anywhere from hours to days after eating contaminated food or drinks -- usually only last a few hours or days, according to the Kane County Department of Health. But they can be severe or even life-threatening to:

• Older adults


• Infants and young children


• Pregnant women


• People with HIV/AIDS, cancer or any condition that weakens their immune system


• People who take medicines that suppress the immune system; for example, some medicines for rheumatoid arthritis

Some tips for food safety, after the jump.

Several parents have wondered on the School District U46 Facebook group why the Elgin district called a lockdown last week at South Elgin High School but not last month at Elgin High School.

You've probably heard about the lockdown at South Elgin by now. If not, I went over it again in today's cover story, "Secure schools: Lockdowns just one way to make them -- and students -- safer." The short version is police had received reports of an armed and intoxicated man at the high school.

But you may not have heard about the incident last month at Elgin. I asked U46 Safety Coordinator John Heiderscheidt about it while researching today's story. Here's what he said happened:

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, a caller told police he had overheard another man talking about a bomb at Elgin High School, according to Heiderscheidt. It wasn't a "bomb scare." It wasn't a very credible threat. But it was "suspicious," he said.

Credible or not, district officials still searched the building, assisted by Elgin police. But no doors were locked, and no message was sent home, according to the safety coordinator.

That's because, he said, "The difference between the two is pretty dynamic."

Parents were alerted to the incident at South Elgin High School because it was "a major disruption" -- the school was locked down for nearly an hour and surrounded by police, Heiderscheidt said. ConnectEd messages are sent by the district in an emergency, he said, whereas a call about the incident at Elgin High School would have been "informational."

There wasn't a lockdown, he said, because there was no threat inside the building to hide from, like the rumored gunman at South Elgin.

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter