Memorial Service Set in Wisconsin for Woman in Deadly Crash

Jennifer Liston to be remembered during Friday afternoon service in Madison.

A memorial service has been scheduled in Wisconsin on Friday, Dec. 14, for the woman who was driving a stolen car when she crashed into another vehicle on Route 38 in Campton Hills on Dec. 1, killing a Maple Park man and injuring two other people.   Jennifer Marie Liston, 30, of Madison, Wis., died in the Dec. 1 head-on crash with a car driven by Zachary Bingham, 18, of Maple Park, who died of his injuries. The crash also killed his dog and injured his girlfriend, Erin Pazin, 19, of Elburn. Two other vehicles became involved in the wreck as well, and one other person was injured. Liston was driving a car that had been reported stolen in Wheaton, then was involved in a crash in Geneva and fled a deputy who abandoned the chase when the woman…

• Photos (1)

Grief Process Is as Unique as the Individual

Watershed 1969 book transformed the medical community’s approach toward dying patients. It identified five key steps that are a part of the grieving process among the dying but which since have gained broader acceptance.

In her 1969 book, On Death and Dying, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross detailed the five stages of grieving she observed during her work with dying patients. In her book, Kübler-Ross not only identified the characteristics of those emotional reactions to impending death, but she also noted they occur in no particular order, and that the individual may revisit the stages from time to time. Since the publication of her book, the five stages she described have become more broadly known as the grief cycle in any situation involving loss. Such a grieving process is ongoing for those mourning the loss of two people killed in a fatal car accident in Campton Hills last weekend. The five stages are fairly simple and are noted in the Elizabeth Kübler-Ross …

• Photos (1)

2 Dead, 2 Injured in Campton Hills Crash Involving Stolen Vehicle

A Wisconsin woman was driving a car stolen in Wheaton when it collided with a Maple Park man’s vehicle. Both were killed in the four-vehicle crash.

After being involved in a minor hit-and-run accident in Geneva, the driver of a car stolen in Wheaton fled on Route 38 at speeds in excess of 100 mph and struck another vehicle head-on, triggering a four-car crash that killed her and another driver Saturday night. Authorities have not determined whether alcohol played a role in the accident. Police said an incident that transpired in the 1900 block of Illinois Street in Wheaton before the accident is still under investigation. Jennifer Liston, 30, of Madison, Wis., and Zachary Bingham, 18, of Maple Park, were both killed in the accident at 8:45 p.m. Saturday near 42W761 Route 38, Campton Hills Police Chief Dan Hoffman said in a release. Liston was pronounced dead at the scene by the Elburn…

•  115 Comments
• Photos (1)

Jeff Ward: Wheaton's Mayor Weighs In on New York's Soft Drink Ban

The nanny state is coming to get us, whether we like it or not!

So I called Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk and asked him the question we’ve all been dying to ask: Considering Illinois’ infamous fourth-place ranking in the national childhood obesity race, would he consider following in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s draconian footsteps by endeavoring to ban supersize soft drinks? I’m sure you’ve all heard about our infamous Gotham City head honcho who, in order to gain a slim foothold in the battle of the bulge, proposed a ban on any restaurant or movie-theater soda container larger than 16 ounces. My first thought was, just because they can’t say “supersize it,” how’s that gonna stop 'em from ordering two—or three? I’m convinced it’s that kind of logical thinking that keeps me from becoming a …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (8)

Jeff Ward: Notes on West Suburban Civilization

Jeff Ward: Patchland! Rise Up and Throw Off Those Red-Light-Camera Shackles!

George Orwell was right!

All that whooping and hollering you just heard was me! I couldn’t help but get a little excited over Houston, TX, removing every last one of its 70 red-light cameras. Despite a despicable legal attack and being outspent 10-to-1, a citizen’s group started by two brothers got the removal measure on the ballot and then prevailed. Not one to admit defeat, the camera company tried a last-ditch legal end run and, when the city council wouldn’t buckle, sued Houston for $25 million. It’s all about safety, isn’t it! That second round of loud applause you heard was also me. After calling every single West Suburban Patch police department, I was astonished to find that only four cities—Geneva, St. Charles, Lisle and Western Springs—employ the heinous…

•  41 Comments
• Photos (6)

Rachel Abata

12:05 pm on Friday, December 23, 2011

That guy that panhandles by the Walmart is harmless, if you've known he's been there for 2 years you should know he NEVER approaches vehicles unless someone rolls down their window to help this man. I understand that maybe your mother didn't know that, but don't blame the man that panhandles for your mothers ticket...the law is the law, look at you blaming everyone for her ticket...what the hell …   more ›

Icons For Sale: Which Will School District 304 Sell—Coultrap or Fourth Street?

The Coultrap and Fourth Street properties are being held back as the Board of Education debates their future.

Editor's note: This is the eighth of a multipart summer series by Tara Knott and Garrett Lance looking at the iconic Geneva buildings for sale or facing future moves, and what those moves mean for Geneva's long-term development. See the series intro here.   The "Back to School" displays at Target and Wal-Mart already are swarming with students on the hunt for the perfect Glee-themed notebook and confused moms trying to figure out exactly what O-Glue is.  And it seems this school supply rush gets earlier and earlier every year as District 304 continues to expand. Two new elementary schools—Williamsburg and Fabyan—have opened in the past three years.  But the district's massive growth has left two of its historic schools in the dust—namely …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)