We live on Garfield Street and we saw some rats on our block. We went up to the gentleman who had the car with the rats on the top and asked him why he was on our block sitting there watching. He said he is working for a company trying to lobby a petition to get our street basins done by a company locally instead of hiring and contracting a company out of Minnesota. I’m just curious why? With all the unemployment rate with the local community here and all the foreclosures in the DuPage County area, I’m just curious why a local company would not have gotten that bid to keep them working rather than a company in Minnesota. Does anybody know? Thanks for the support out there for having the rats on the car.
Carl Goldsmith, director of public works for the Village of Lombard, responded: “The ‘Rat Patrol’ is an action by a labor union in protest of a village contractor not being a union shop. The union members are in no way seeking to petition for a local contractor to be awarded the contract; more so, the action is most likely an attempt to coerce the contractor to become a union shop. The union has made no contact with the village and is in no way protesting the village's actions relative to the award of the contract. Under Illinois State Statute and Lombard Municipal Code, contracts for public works projects are awarded based on the result of a competitive bidding process. The village goes through a formal bid process that is open to all qualified firms and awards the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, regardless of the company's location. This ensures that the village operates in the most cost efficient manner.”—JAC
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This is Lombard calling. I was out one day watching three younger teenage girls walking a dog and they were letting this dog go to the bathroom in several yards. I called across the street and asked them if they wanted a bag to clean it up, because I noticed they weren’t carrying anything to clean up the mess, and they ignored me and kept walking fast down the street. I just want to tell parents, if you’re going to have your kids walk your dog, please instruct them on the politeness of picking up the dog’s droppings in people’s yards. It’s really kind of a sad sight to see as the dog is going in three different yards.
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I’m very surprised to read in the Lombard Pride that we’re only charging $1.25 a day for the commuter lots. At McDonald’s their value menu is a dollar. Everyone is paying $3 for coffee at Starbuck’s. Why do we only charge $1.25? We should be charging a minimum of $3 a day. When you go to a Cubs game, you pay a minimum of $10 to $20 just to park. You pay $100 to take your kids to the game. We’re charging $1.25? This is pathetic. This is premium parking in downtown Lombard, right next to the train. This convenience needs to cost more, yet we keep raising permit prices for everyone else in town. I think we really need to look at the structure of the parking.
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This is Lombard calling, I’ve been a citizen of Lombard now for 23 years and I would like to say that even though the water park now is more updated, every time I go by the water park I reminisce about the time there used to be that waterfall in the middle of the zero-depth pool and how it would be fun to go underneath the artificial waterfall and get pelted in the back with the roaring rapids of that waterfall. The new water park looks good and I think it is drawing a good amount of revenue for the summer.
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Congratulations Lombard Thunder Baseball 11-under on your great performance at the recent Mt. Prospect tournament. You’re the most exciting baseball team we’ve ever witnessed.
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This is Villa Park. I’ve been meaning to call in regard to the Memorial Day silhouette you had pictured in the paper from David Wellehan in Lombard, how he had the kneeling soldier. I think that was just so awesome and beautiful. David sure shows a lot of talent and I would loved having something like that in my front yard. I wonder if this guy sells his silhouettes. Thank you again, David, for a wonderful job.
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I’m calling from the north side of Villa Park and am wondering if anything can be done about the ice cream truck. I get home from work around 5:30 p.m. and for at least the first two hours of the evening, all we do is listen to that truck and that music playing all over the neighborhood. Can it be limited? Can we have an ordinance keeping them out of town or the number of hours they can be here? It’s so annoying. It’s been going on for over a month, I think, already. Just a thought—I’m sure I’m not alone with this. The nice weather, when you have the windows open, you listen to the ice cream truck, and then unfortunately it gets too hot and then you’ve got the windows all closed up with the air conditioning on. It sure would be nice to be able to come home, sit on the patio or the deck, relax after work without that constant music from the ice cream truck.
Bob Niemann, village manager for the Village of Villa Park, said there is no specific ordinance regarding ice cream trucks. However, they are obligated to heed the village’s noise ordinance, Ord. No. 791, Art. V 7-11-61, which states: “It shall be unlawful to operate a motor vehicle which makes an unusually loud or unnecessary noise; or operated in such manner as to cause the vehicle to make unusually loud or unnecessary noise.”—JAC
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I’m calling because people are getting too much into other people’s business, like the person who complained about a pumpkin. I think we need to be more concerned about issues and not so concerned about our neighbors’ decorations.
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Hello, I’m a Villa Park resident and I’d like to make a comment about the gangbangers who are destroying property. It’s just too bad they can’t catch these people and put them in jail. I saw a couple of new buildings with gang signs on them. Fine them big amounts of money and maybe they will learn there’s a better way to make a living than being in gangs. Just thought I’d make that comment since I see a lot of things being destroyed because of these people.
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After working in my yard this summer, I wrote a quote for your paper: When someone tells you, you have too much time on your hands, it’s just their way of coping with their own bad time management
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I’m calling to vent a little bit. A local news channel said there were six or seven attacks on people that happened after 1, 2 and 3 a.m. in Chicago. I don’t get it. First off, what are you doing out at that time walking by yourself? Something’s going to happen. Second, they think most of these are gang-related, so where are the families, aka the parents? I’m just wondering where the parents are, not checking to see that their kids are at home. The police can’t do everything.
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This is Lombard calling. Hey, JAC, how ignorant must you think your readers are to think we’re going to believe that the two calls sent to Rep. Roskam on July 29 in SPEAK OUT were actually not done by his staff, or they were not put up to it? My gosh, you already give him a whole column in your paper to spout his views, and it’s just kind of ridiculous. Anyway, I hope the representative has two sides to that rubber stamp: the one he voted yes on for every single one of George W. Bush’s bills, and the one he has now, now that the Democrats are in charge.
Whenever possible, we try to get answers to questions in SPEAK OUT. Why do you assume those two anonymous calls were made by the congressman’s staff and not by constituents with legitimate questions?—JAC
