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July 1, 2009

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Lombard calling. I’d like to know when the village street reconstruction is going to end. On the corner of Main and Graham there has been a mess since last summer. Up until just two months ago there had been a telephone pole laying there and there’s still unrepaired turf.

Public works Director Carl Goldsmith responded: “As part of the Main Street Lighting Project, the Commonwealth Edison poles and overhead lines were required to be relocated. The responsibility for the removal of the material and abandoned poles rests with Commonwealth Edison. The pole at Main Street and Graham was removed in April and the village continues to work with representatives from Commonwealth Edison to have the restoration of the right-of-way completed. The village apologizes for the condition of the right-of-way and is diligently working to have the site restored in a timely fashion.”—JAC


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Listen up, ladies and gentlemen. Do you know why our state of Illinois legislators aren’t making any changes? Because they don’t want to cut each other’s pay. They give you lip service.


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This is Villa Park calling. I’m calling for the second time and I certainly hope you print this. My neighbors and I are having trouble with drag racing on North Avenue on weekend nights in front of a restaurant. There are teenagers coming from several states away, they’re putting bets on their hot rods and they are going in excess of 80 mph. We have contacted the police, the sheriff and nobody is doing anything about this. Somebody is going to get killed. They are at high rates of speed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights on North Avenue. Who can we contact? Please help us.

Your comments were presented to Robert Budig, chief of patrol services for the Villa Park Police Department, who said he is quite aware of the situation and extra patrols have been placed in the area. “Every Friday, we’re up there,” he said, adding that when officers have been up there, there have been no incidents of drag racing. However, officers have been issuing citations for over a month now, Budig related. In addition to the extra patrols and citations, Budig said officers have been working with a neighboring business, Supreme Lobster, where parking after hours has been a problem. Any vehicles found in the Supreme Lobster lot after hours will be towed, the chief said. He invited anyone with a question or concern to call him at 630-834-7447.—blm

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Hi, this is a Lombard resident, standing outside our brand new water park. However, I can’t get in because I’m not a pass holder. Pass holders can get in before, but the residents who paid for this and do not hold a pass are not allowed in until 12:30.

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I am a Lombard resident who is a hard-working single mother with two teenage children I’m raising relatively by myself. I was coming home from work two times and this red light violation, turning right on red, took a picture of me doing that. Now I have to pay $200 and I am appalled and I will probably going to newspapers, television news shows and if I can, I will be going to the congressmen. I absolutely believe this is a money-making machine and is only done in Villa Park. Why isn’t it done in other towns? It makes no sense to me.

While it has been widely debated whether the red light cameras are for revenue or safety, Villa Park certainly is not the only community that has installed the enforcement cameras. In fact, Lombard has two intersections with red light cameras—Finley and Roosevelt roads and North Avenue and Route 53. During your travels, be on the lookout for signs near intersections that announce the red light cameras as any number of area communities are using this enforcment method.—blm

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Here we sit folks, unemployed. Why? Because Obama gave the money to the banks, not to real businesses. Here we sit, unemployed. Why? Because banks don’t create jobs. Banks only keep money. We need businesses to be given money. Why is the Obama administration doing this backwards? They keep giving money to the people who are already rich and the other people who need the money to create jobs don’t get it. I don’t get it.

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This is Lombard calling to the couple with the matching bike racing outfits who yelled at my 7-year-old on the Prairie Path recently. My 7-year-old was pulling a wagon on the right side with one wheel in the grass. You had no right to yell at him because of the fact that you had to stop for oncoming bikers. The Prairie Path belongs to everyone and wearing your outfits doesn’t give you more ownership than other people. It was a Saturday afternoon, he was perfectly entitled to that. He was upset all day about being yelled at. How horrible.

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This is Lombard calling. If there’s such a great demand for a skate park, why not make it a source of revenue as the new water park? I would suggest Southland Park—isn’t there room for a skate park at that venue? Sounds reasonable to me.

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To the person a couple of weeks ago reprimanding President Mueller for his Daily Herald article, please take your blinders off. You stated that you cannot count Sweet Street or Capone’s as new businesses because they “purchased” the business. Sweet Street did purchase the closing business. Capone’s did not.  Capone’s rented the former Texas BBQ space and is a new business.  Had either of these owners decided not to move here, we would have additional vacancies and you would be complaining about that. Yes, we have Clancy’s as a new butcher.  Feel Good Hair has been very successful and moved to a new location in downtown and was able to double the size of their business.  A new salon is opening in Feel Good Hair’s former location.  Additionally, President Mueller was also aware at the time of the article that a new women’s boutique was opening soon in downtown and has since opened. On top of that, President Mueller is also aware and has been assisting with businesses that are interested in opening in downtown and are currently in talks with current property owners. So, unlike many of our surrounding neighboring towns, Lombard is actually filling vacancies and attracting new businesses.  President Mueller, the trustees and the LTC are working very hard and offering many incentives to bring in new businesses and it is working.  Change doesn’t happen overnight but many changes are occurring and many people are very excited.

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I have a couple of pet peeves when it comes to driving. Recently while driving home at the corner of Finley and Roosevelt roads, I saw two of them.  The first was that the person was talking on their cell phone. Your conversation isn't that important.  Wait until you get home. The second was that they were turning left onto Finley and the left turn signal on their car was not on.  Now this is something that I encounter daily, so why did this get under my skin? The car was a brand new Lombard Police Dodge Charger. To the officer who was driving, I know you've got a hard job. We all do. My daughter asked why he was turning without a turn signal. She's 9. I try and lead by example; as an employee of the Village of Lombard, you should, too.

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I’m calling in response to the person in Villa Park talking about the red light camera installed at Route 83 by Wal-Mart. Apparently you don’t know the rules of the road. You must make a full stop at the red light, and then you can make your right-hand turn. If you come to that red light and slide around that corner like many people do, you will get that $100 ticket. So, read the rules of the road.

 

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