17 Illinois People To Remember From 2017

CHICAGOLAND, IL - At Patch, as we turn the page past 2017 and begin our journey into 2018, we’ve had some time to look back at some of the top headlines of the year. Here, we’ll take a look back at some of the biggest headliners of the year.

To end the year on a high note, we take a look back at some of the best “people” stories from the Illinois Patch network in 2017. Below you’ll find 17 people who we’ve had the good fortune of telling their story. These are the “17 People to Remember From 2017.”

Joe Scozio has been cutting hair at the same barber shop for 60 years. For the past six decades, the regulars have flocked to 95th Street for the no-tricks haircuts and banter of Scozio, proprietor of the Evergreen Barber Shop. Joe the Barber has operated the same barber shop, in the same location, since he was 17 years old in 1957.

Read more via Lorraine Swanson / Evergreen Park Patch

Isabel McKeehan is a brave 9-year-old girl from La Grange who suffers from urea cycle disorder, an extremely rare genetic disease that only affects 1 in 35,000 people in the United States. Her parents, Lupe and Nick has been active in sharing her story to help other families impacted by rare diseases know that they are not alone.

"I kind of stumbled upon it," Lupe said, of her work as an ambassador for local pharmaceutical company Horizon Pharma. Recently she worked with the company to launch “UCD in Common,”a website that provides educational and interactive resources for those that have UCD or are looking for more information about it.

"My main objective is to help other families," Lupe said.

Read more via Andrea Earnest / La Grange Patch

Ralph Lendi has been a dedicated UPS driver since 1969. Driving every day and racking up more than 5 million miles in 48 years, the Tinley Park resident has never been involved in an accident on the job.

Read more via Tim Moran / Tinley Park Patch

Joey Ventimiglia, a 7-year-old boy from Darien who loves the Chicago Cubs, was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable brain tumor. He was one of just five children in Illinois with that condition. Now, he's the only one of those five who is still alive and his family and the local community are rallying to give him access to trial treatments.

Joey's condition is called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, which causes aggressive brain tumors in the glial tissue at the base of the brain and affects roughly 200 children in the U.S. every year.

Read more via Lisa Marie Farver / Darien Patch

Harold Katz never had a chance to celebrate a traditional bar mitzvah. The Nazis robbed him of the Jewish coming of age ceremony more than 70 years ago. But at age 89, the Holocaust survivor’s long-delayed celebration finally came to be at Chabad of Wilmette.

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch

Grace Goble, a 17-year-old student at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, was told her senior photo was unacceptable. So she began a petition to stop the "over-sexualization of young women's bodies."

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Park Ridge Patch

Thomas Malcolm retired after four decades of inspiring middle school students at Morgan Park Academy. His dedication to the school over the years earned him the nickname “Mr. MPA.”

Read more via Tim Moran / Beverly Mt. Greenwood Patch

Lain Kienzle, a Lake Forest filmmaker, is raising money for a new film set in the American South in the 1920's. Kienzle is a 24-year-old Lake Forest native and graduate of Lake Forest High School and New York University. She says she wants to give voice to generations of women with her new period drama, The Mouse and the Lion.

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch

Susan Atkinson of Batavia was featured in the WebMD series "Living Bipolar." Atkinson discusses the unique struggles associated with the stigma.

Read more via Lisa Marie Farver / Batavia Patch

Jake Leahy, an 18-year-old from Bannockburn, became Illinois’ youngest elected official when he ran for an uncontested seat on the Bannockburn School District 106 Board of Education as a senior at Deerfield High School.

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Deerfield Patch

Tim Long organized an effort to hold a three-day garage sale in West Beverly to benefit Beau Dowling, a local 2-year-old boy who is battling cancer.

Read more via Tim Moran / Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Patch

Jon "The Illustrious One" Stewart, a former pro wrestler from Deerfield, is seeking the Libertarian nomination in the Illinois Governor’s race.

"The state is run by a hierarchy, a ponzi scheme of politicians, where the bottom people on the ponzi scheme — we, the voters — are going to lose the most," Stewart told Patch.

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Deerfield Patch

Justyna Kruk, a native of Burbank, won big - $49,500 and a trip to Antigua for guessing the winning puzzle "Package Deal” - on Wheel of Fortune. Kruk got hooked as a kid watching the show with her mother and grandmother.

Read more via Lorraine Swanson / Oak Lawn Patch

Jade Greear, a Homewood-Flossmoor High School alum who has been an activist since the age of 6, continues her mission to help others as a student at Michigan State University. Her inspirational story was highlighted on an episode of Lifetime’s “Live Life Forward.”

Read more via Tim Moran / Homewood-Flossmoor Patch

Zachary Stack is a teenager who has a plan to build an a baseball field accessible to those with physical and developmental disabilities at the John Humphrey Complex in Orland Park.

Read more via Lorraine Swanson / Orland Park Patch

Jasper Davidoff is an Evanston boy scout who called President Donald Trump’s remarks at a Boy Scouts of America event a “disgrace.”

"I am deeply concerned about the message that thousands of the BSA's members received," wrote 17-year-old Evanston Boy Scout Jasper Davidoff, who attended the speech. "The president made the conscious decision to incorporate deeply divisive political speech into an event that warrants nothing of the sort."

Read more via Jonah Meadows / Evanston Patch

Isaiah Day is a 15-year-old who loves to dance. Once bullied for his passion, this bright young resident of Hyde Park is now with others who share his love for the activity at the Chicago Academy for the Arts.

Read more via Tim Moran / Hyde Park Patch

ALSO WORTH A LOOK:

Experienced Artist Opens Long-Awaited Gallery In Lake Bluff

Homer Glen Family Holds Chalk-A-Thon To Give Back To Charity

Beloved Oak Park Teacher Reinstated After Outpouring Of Support

Brother Fires Max’s Deli Co-Owner After 1 Offensive Post Too Many

Richard Thaler Of University Of Chicago Wins Nobel Prize For Economics

Mr. Manna’s Opus: A History Of The Legendary Marist Band

Veteran Journalist Justin Breen Launches ‘Epic’ PR Firm

Lemont Family Sells Flowers To Raise Funds For Loved One With Rare Appendix Cancer

State Troopers Rescued Woman And Gave Family A Chance To Say Goodbye

Anthony Rizzo Replaces Signed Photo Stolen From Girl With Cancer

And A Look Back: 16 Illinois People To Remember From 2016