The Lombard library board went to some expense to acquire from the park district the driveway into the park on the west side of the library building. They also acquired the empty home and property west of the drive. I believe there were also attorney fees involved. After all the angst and expense of doing so, why have they done nothing? That property would make an ideal parking lot for patrons. Children would no longer need to cross busy Maple or Park to come to the library. Instead, the house is empty and needs maintenance and the library employees are parking there instead of patrons. I say, get rid of the empty eyesore house and put in a much needed parking lot.
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In the pamphlet from Treasurer Gwen Henry, it said that 72.5 percent of my tax bill goes to schools. I did the math, like I do every year, and that figure is just plain wrong. I added up District 44, District 87 and College of DuPage, and it was more like 78.5 percent. And, looking at the pension funds I have to subsidize, for Lombard alone the amount is over $300, twice what the tax itself was. Also, the reality TV show title asks, “My house is worth what?” I can’t imagine that I could sell my house for what the assessor says is its fair cash value—on paper, anyway. More like fantasy than reality.
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Hi, this is Villa Park calling. I’m encouraging all voters to come and vote for the new board of education when it’s time. I’m concerned, as I’ve attended several board meetings and my concern is over the decision-making process that has been occurring in District 45. I would highly encourage all voters to come out and take a look at our current board of education and encourage them to make some changes.
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Having no fire equipment in the Lilac Parade was a huge disappointment. After reading the article on Page 2 of the Lombardian, I think I have an understanding of why, which is an even bigger disappointment. It’s clear that there’s not a respectful working relationship between Dave Hulseberg and the firemen. Any man who would not allow our men to attend the funeral of a young firefighter who lost his life trying to save another is certainly lacking integrity. I would question his lack of respect for police officers and firefighters as well. I have the utmost respect for firefighters and police officers. I have no patience for a village manager who does not.
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Watching “American Idol” reminded me of the presidential elections when it comes to voting for who’s more popular versus the best person for the job. I let Lee’s local connection cloud my judgment of his talent but the night before the winner was announced, I decided that Crystal was the better choice of the two if the contest had been based solely on talent. Here, too, it came down to the most votes, plain and simple.
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This is Lombard calling. Just wondering why in the world people can’t seem to get the dandelions under control in their lawn. There are lawns up and down a couple of busy streets that look horrible; and especially during Lilac Time, you would think people would have the consideration and the decency to take care of their lawn and their town.
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I’m calling about the Great Western overpass at St. Charles and Grace. Instead of a bike overpass, how about a St. Charles overpass or combination of both, to eliminate the bottleneck at that intersection? I’d rather spend my money on vehicle traffic than bike traffic.
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To the person who thinks the Village of Villa Park can’t cut 10 percent of its budget, you must be kidding or you work for the government. Everyone knows there is waste in government. There should be 20 percent across-the-board cut, including the administration, public works, police and fire. There should be a 10- percent rollback in the salary and benefits of existing employees. All public companies are cutting back and cutting individuals. It’s time for local government to do the same. As for quality of life, there’s little if you lose your house because of an increase in taxes. If the board members and village manager don’t figure it out, we will need to make the changes in leadership to people who will listen to the voters.
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Hi, this is Lombard calling in response to the people complaining about barking dogs. I also have a dog that comes out between 5:30 and 6 a.m. barking and wakes me up. I can’t even open my windows. Don’t people have respect for other people who are sleeping and don’t they know about the 24-hour noise ordinance? Maybe a call to the police might stop it. I pity other people who have to listen to people who want dogs and let them outside and bark.
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Just wondering if anyone else is suspicious about oil prices dropping during the most catastrophic oil spill our country has ever experienced. Is it possible that the oil companies are trying to keep the general public from thinking about what’s happening in the gulf? For the time being, and certainly while gas prices continue to drop, it’s almost possible for us to forget what’s happening to our natural resources. Wake up, people, the gas companies seem to raise and lower gas prices on a whim and we can’t do anything about it. I find it extremely suspicious why now, of all times, prices are going down rather than being raised. Think about it.
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Aren’t bicyclists supposed to obey the same rules as motorists? If so, why do they routinely disobey stop signs and red lights? I just saw a bicyclist drive right through a red light. Don't those lights apply to them? Do they think that being on a bike gives them the right to disobey the signals? And why do some bicyclists ride in the road? Aren’t there laws against minimum speed limits? If a bicyclist is in the right lane on Main Street, going about 15 mph, I either have to stay behind or veer into the left lane to pass. Why can’t bicyclists ride on sidewalks?
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We all know about the terrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Does that incident mean we should stop drilling for oil? Of course not. More than 30,000 people died in traffic accidents in the U.S. last year. Does that mean we should outlaw driving, or reduce the speed limit to 10 miles an hour? And no matter what we do here, the drilling will continue in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Venezuela, Canada and around the world.
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President Obama should ask Felipe Calderon what happens to people who enter Mexico illegally. I’d like to hear that on the news. I know he likes Americans to support his poor and he likes the billion dollars they return to Mexico yearly, courtesy of the American taxpayers, so naturally he opposes Arizona’s new law. I hope other states wake up to the American dilemma. American taxpayers can’t afford to support illegals. Let’s let Felipe Calderon take care of his people, not the American taxpayers.
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On a recent Sunday evening I took my kids to Terrace View park by Park View School and somebody had left two bat bags, two baseball mitts and about a half-dozen baseball bats at the west field. I put all the stuff in a dark brown box located at that field.
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I have nothing against dogs. I happen to like dogs. But when a neighbor’s dogs are barking outside in the middle of the night, that’s just plain rude of the neighbor. Isn’t that disturbing the peace?
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Hi, Lombard calling. Are our village and park district employees above the law where they don’t have to wear their seat belts? Where are their supervisors and where are the police for “Click it or Ticket”?
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Was it the Lilac Parade or the Shriners Parade? It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the bands and the floats, but too much Shriners. They do the same stuff year after year and it is tiring and makes the parade too long.
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How pathetic that the firemen disappointed the kids in Lombard. This is really bad that politics falls into the parade, which is a matter of Lombard’s pride. The public will probably remember that.
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I live on Graham Avenue and congratulations to all the Glenbard East kids in the band who march up and down the street a few times every year. It’s something to have all the neighbors come out and look at them and know all their hard effort has gone into making a wonderful band and a great job in the parade. Keep on going, Glenbard East.
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On May 25, Obama’s approval rating was 42 percent, and the oil in the gulf has been leaking for over a month. The stock market was below 10,000 and there has been no discussion about the felony that has supposedly been committed in the White House about offering Sestak a job so he can get out of the race. And, President Obama was talking about don’t-ask-don’t-tell. And by the way, the economy is in the toilet and gas prices are going up. I don’t understand. I just don’t understand how we can allow this to happen. If this were President Bush, President Clinton, President Reagan—pick a president—we would be outraged, but no, since it is Obama, we are letting him by with a pass. I cannot believe this country will allow this to continue.
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Just wonder if Lombard needed to replace their 1994 fire truck with a new one that cost almost a half million dollars. At this time when money is in short supply for everyone including government, I think they could have made it a few more years with their old fire truck and used the money some other way.
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As a parent of two student athletes at Willowbrook I was dismayed by the recent response the sports editor Chris Fox made to a recent speak out contributor regarding coverage of sporting events at the high school. While he answered the question I felt that his response was slightly over reaching and demeaning to all of the student athletes at Willowbrook. His snappy comeback regarding the spring teams and their lack of a regional title felt condescending. He seemed to call out the baseball, softball, boy’s volleyball and girl’s soccer teams not only for their lack of a title but also their failure to even go to regionals. I am aware that the coverage of all of the local schools’ sporting events is limited, and I have seen many articles throughout the years about the teams of Willowbrook and their many successes, but it was disheartening to read this reply. I am sure that the sports editor hears this refrain too often but in the future a little discretion could go a long way.
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It would have been nice to see the fire engines and the like in the parade as Bonnie MacKay has pointed out in her editorial. However, all the noise by blasting air horns and sirens was not missed. We complain about people playing their radios loud in their cars, yet say nothing about all the loud noise made by the fire engines, etc. Surely this isn’t needed, is it? What about all those young kids out there? Maybe a blast here and there would be OK as far as the little tots are concerned. But all this noise? I think not.
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Lombard here. What do you get when you place a police station in a residential area? You get squad cars racing up and down residential streets. This is really dangerous and I’m annoyed that three or four cars are routinely dispatched from the station. One would think that more of these officers could be out on patrol. Perhaps we need a small satellite police station where our officers could park while they wait for the next emergency. I think that the former DuPage Theater lot would be the perfect spot. It’s right on Main Street near a railroad underpass for easy access to the north side of town. Let’s not wait until we have a tragedy on Grace or Wilson that involves a Lombard police car. Think about it.
