President-elect Obama's win voted top story in Illinois

4. ECONOMIC MELTDOWN The nationwide economic downturn ripples throughout Illinois with soaring unemployment, high gas prices, home foreclosures and municipal budget cuts. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley outlines plans to lay off hundreds of city workers and eliminate nearly 1,350 vacant jobs to help cover a $469 million city budget shortfall.

5. HUDSON DEATHS The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson are fatally shot in their Chicago home on Oct. 24, and Hudson's and 7-year-old nephew is found shot to death in an SUV three days later. Hudson's estranged brother-in-law William Balfour has been charged in the killings; he has pleaded not guilty. Hudson, a 2004 “American Idol” finalist, was raised on the city's South Side.

6. FUNDRAISER TRIAL Political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko is convicted of federal fraud, money laundering and bribery charges. Rezko was accused of squeezing kickbacks out of companies that wanted to do business with the state. Rezko, who's awaiting sentencing, raised money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaigns and for Obama's state races but not his presidential campaign. Obama has not been accused of wrongdoing.

7. CHICAGO OLYMPIC BID Chicago is selected in June as a finalist in the bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, along with Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Madrid, Spain. Chicago 2016, the city's bid committee, works to raise the city's international profile. Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey airs a celebration show with Olympic athletes in Chicago's Millennium Park. Those attending include swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in the summer, Dara Torres and Kobe Bryant. The IOC will pick a host city next year.

8. OBAMA DISTRACTIONS Barack Obama's longtime former pastor and mentor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, becomes the center of a political firestorm after short clips of fiery sermons gain widespread Internet and television play. Obama, who attended Trinity for years, denounces his connections to the church and Wright, who officiated the Obamas' wedding. Wright retires from Trinity over the summer.

9. STATEWIDE FLOODING Illinois is hit hard by flooding several times. In January, heavy rainfall and melting snow send the Vermilion River over its banks in Livingston and Iroquois counties. Hundreds of east-central Illinois homes are evacuated. By summer, Illinois communities along the Mississippi River work to fortify levees as severe storms send the river surging to near-record levels. A levee in the western Illinois town of Gulfport breaks, causing authorities to rescue people by helicopter, boat and four-wheeler. Months later, the remnants of Hurricane Ike slam northern Illinois, causing flooding.

10. EIGHT SLAIN Police launch a statewide manhunt in late June for Nicholas Sheley of Sterling, Ill., who eventually is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing eight people in Illinois and Missouri. Sheley is arrested outside a Granite City bar July 1. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial.

10. LANE BRYANT SHOOTINGS Five women are fatally shot at a suburban Chicago Lane Bryant clothing store in February. Authorities, who believe there was a single shooter, say the motive at the Tinley Park strip mall appeared to be robbery.