Diversity is gaining in `white' suburbs

The days when "west and northwest suburbs" were code words for"white" are passing.

A decade ago, nine out of 10 people in Naperville, Itasca,Palatine and Wheaton were white. Today, while the communities arestill mostly white, increasing numbers of minorities-especiallyLatinos and Asians-are calling those places home.

Census 2000 confirmed what many suspected after noticing who elsewas shopping at their neighborhood grocery and standing in lines atthe cineplex.

But the new diversity on soccer fields and in classrooms doesn'tnecessarily mean people of different races are always living nextdoor to one another. They often share a village but not the …