I’d like to thank the Villa Park Review for giving me a chance to speak out. My concern is the borrowing of money on a referendum. I think we need to pay off our first two loans before we’re going to have any new loans taken out. They call it a bond issue but it’s still a loan. I’d just like to know what other people think about borrowing money at this time. As far as a referendum for the tax, we should be equal to our surrounding areas in and a tax referendum would be OK, not borrowing money now for any circumstances.

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This is Villa Park. I’m always noticing Villa Park getting these kinds of engineering estimates and this and that, and they are Chicago firms. What happened to “buy Villa Park”? Doesn’t Villa Park have any kind of engineering firms that do these estimates and research? We could use the money, keeping it in our own town.

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Lombard calling. People do look forward to the Taste of Lombard—a time to eat and a time to meet friends. I, for one, do not like the loud music and totally stay away from the Taste area on the Fourth of July. It seems to bring undesirable people that night. Our family enjoys the fireworks and always meets off of Wilson. Trees are getting big and we cannot see the ground displays. My real big complaint is there are no porta-potties except off Madison. It makes for big problems for young and old. Also, total blackness once the fireworks are over. There are more people in this area from the fence to Wilson than anywhere else. We’re told it was a park district problem. Come on.

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Local, state and federal governments are out of control. Competent citizens should run for political office that career politicians have sought. Remember, it’s our government. It is our constitution that is being used as a doormat. We can no longer complain, sit back and do nothing. We have to vote. We have to know who’s running for what. We have to question politicians through e-mail, letters and phone. Be vigilant. The alternative is loss of freedom. It’s happening. Freedom is precious and it must be nurtured and guarded.

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Lombard resident here. I am guessing most people who use fireworks around the July 4th holiday are unaware of the now proven safety and environmental risks from their use. Don't use fireworks at home; go to your local village display. Keep our neighborhoods safe. As fun and enjoyable as fireworks can be, they may be causing more damage then you know. Aside from the obvious danger of operating controlled explosives, what you may not realize is the effects fireworks have environmentally, economically and health-wise. Fireworks are composed of many different elements, each contributing to the noise, color or propellant. While these ingredients combine to form a beautiful spectacle, many of them are very dangerous.

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Hi, this is  a Lombard resident and I thought there was an ordinance that for anyone who smokes needs to be a certain amount of feet away from an establishment. I thought it was 15 feet but I’m not sure. I was at a restaurant in downtown Lombard and I saw a nice couple who got up and went far away from the area to have a cigarette but throughout the night, there were two tables of heavy smokers and not once did anyone say anything. And while it was outside eating, I still thought there was an ordinance that they were not supposed to be smoking. I was just wondering if this is legal or not.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I’m a veteran of the Vietnam War era. I would like to congratulate the six or so individuals who stood up at the recent Glenbard East commencement exercises at the College of DuPage. I also congratulate the school for acknowledging their sacrifice for their enlistment in the military. With all the hoopla in the newspapers about the valedictorians, sports contests and the winners of them, etc., there’s no mention, Lombardian, about these individuals, prior to their graduation, who committed their time and energy, probably two years or more off their life, to serve their country. I feel the Lombardian failed in this regard to honor these young high school graduates who have done what I feel is most important of all—serve their country at this young age.

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Pay attention to what’s going on in Lombard. The village president gets a grade A in ribbon cutting, but when the time comes to save us tax dollars, he gets a big failing grade. That’s all I can say about you, Mr. Mueller. Get your priorities in order, stop showing off for pictures and cut the taxes.

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The president and his administration have been in office a long time, yet the promise to move all the prisoners out of Guantanamo and close it hasn’t been done. The Iraq War continues, there has been no job stimulus, there’s no home ownership stimulus, there’s no business stimulus, and the president has ignored the oil spill in the gulf for weeks before pressure started to get him involved. Tell me, why would anyone support this president and his administration? They’ve done nothing. When it comes to change, they’re farthest from change.

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This is Lombard calling. We’re going on here, now, seven or eight years of complete Democrat control of this state, and in that seven or eight years, we have gone down in every single measurable category; like health care services for children, we are ranked 51st. We actually are behind Washington, D.C., which is pretty tough. In education we’re behind Washington, D.C., health services—every single thing you can measure, we have gone down. But there are things that have gone up. Unemployment has skyrocketed and our deficit or debt that we owe, up to $13 billion. So, do we want to keep this single party control of our state going? Is this really the panacea the left promised us? If this the promised land, if this is nirvana, I think we need to leave the left behind.

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This is Lombard calling. I’m going to speak from my heart and not from the anger in my heart. In my 57 years I have never committed a crime against another person, nor has one been committed against me until now. As petty as it may seem to some, I had three items stolen from my front yard recently. One was one of those silly geese you dress—my granddaughter named her Lucy Goosey and she loved to change her clothes. She was wearing a Cubs dress when she was taken. She was given to me by my sister as a birthday present about eight years ago. The second item was an angel made of cement. She was sitting with her hand on her cheek. She was the last gift my cousin gave me before she passed away at age 46. The last, but definitely not the least, was an American flag. I have many flags in my yard in honor of all armed forces protecting our great land.

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It’s 10:20 a.m. June 15 and I just got back from the food store where there was a fire truck parked out front in the fire lane. I thought there would be some kind of emergency inside but instead I saw two firemen buying garlic, so two firemen took an entire fire truck and parked in the fire lane to do a little grocery shopping. Thank God there wasn’t a fire at my elderly mother’s house. But, this is Lombard, where the citizens exist to serve the government and not the other way around.

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Hi, Lombard calling. This is in regard to a gas station in Lombard, where I used to go every week for gas and fill up for about $45-$50. I went there one day on my bicycle and I had a flat and asked if I could borrow three quarters to fill up the flat on my bicycle and the guy behind the register said he could not open his register for that reason, even though I said I would be right back to pay him, that I didn’t have any change on me, so because he wouldn’t let me borrow three quarters, he just lost $45 or $50 a week as a customer. I hope this would be a lesson to be a Good Samaritan.

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Villa Park calling. As far as dog barking issues go, no, you’re not alone. Please visit barkingdogs.net. Yes, you have a right to enjoy your home and a nice quality of life. Keep a log, audio and decibel readings and insist on nuisance tickets being issued by police. Some police and judges understand; others will coerce you into ignoring it, restricting you from enjoying your residence through someone else’s ignorance. Chicago recently upped the price for dog barking to $250. Basically good dogs and bad owners. As long as we’re on dog issues, thanks to the folks who commented on people in Villa Park with dogs locked up day and night in their homes, lacking exercise and socialization. If you suspect any wrongdoing or inhumane activity, please call the police. They do have a right to intervene, more so than humane enforcers. You can call the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 217-782-6657.

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Villa Park calling. Trustee Hegland has announced he has bought a home in Indiana and will be moving there at some point soon. Why does he not resign his board seat now? He is voting on decisions that he knows will affect our village long after he leaves Villa Park in a few months. Hegland needs to do what is right for those of us who will live in Villa Park for years to come and resign his seat now so a new trustee who intends to continue living in Villa Park can be appointed. I voted for Hegland, but his interests no longer mirror mine as I have no plan to move out of state.