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May 5, 2010


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Lombard. I’d like to know why, one to two times a week, there are at least two to five village vehicles parked in front of a restaurant on Main Street to go in and have lunch at least once or twice a week. Why can’t these people go back to the village hall and get in their own vehicle, like we have to, use your own gasoline like we have to, in these tight times? That’s my comment and I hope that someone at the village gives a response and I don’t see these cars parked at that restaurant anymore.


William Heniff, Lombard Community Development director, responded: “Village office employees cannot take village vehicles out for personal lunch breaks. Employees who are assigned to work in the field throughout the day can stay out in the field and patronize Lombard restaurants that are in close proximity to their scheduled inspections during their lunch break. This way, field employees spend less time driving to and from the village hall before and after their break periods and it can reduce the overall miles travelled in village vehicles.”—JAC


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I know in Illinois we are full of budget woes, but I have an idea and let’s see how this would go. You know you have the county, you have your village too. Let’s get rid of the townships and we certainly can do the job that they do. Do you realize that Illinois has twice the amount of governmental agencies as any other state? Here’s the cry: Townships must go; we do not need them; they are just an overlap of services we already can provide. Townships must go.


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Lombard here. The Union Pacific freight trains have a staging area near the intersection of Finley Road and Hill Street. New railway structures have also been put in place at that intersection. I would like to know how the staging of trains day in and day out for great lengths of time at this location will impact the air quality for the neighbors who live next to and around this area. This is a concern.


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This is Lombard calling. I was at Churchill Woods and I saw an albino mallard duck.


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I think we are being lied to in regard to the price of gasoline these days. Every year, winter formula, summer formula. What the heck is going on? They change it every year and every year they’ve got an excuse to raise the price. There’s no reason to raise the price. The price of oil is still hanging around $80 a barrel. Tell your congressman, your senator, whomever. Write to them, call them up and tell them to stop ripping us off. One excuse after another, just to raise the price of fuel.


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This is Lombard calling. I just want to say that I stopped at Ray’s Onion Grill on St. Charles and it was awesome. I had a cheeseburger—wonderful. Let’s try and support our local businesses. Get out there and visit all the small local stores and restaurants.


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Hi, Lombard calling. I’ve been reading a lot about the DuPage Water Commission and the misappropriation of roughly $19 million. I’m wondering if President Mueller is still a member of this board as I never have seen a list of commissioners of this board. Could you please let us know who the commissioners are? Thank you.


According to the DuPage Water Commission Web site, the following people are members; S. Louis Rathje, chairman; Maureen A. Crowley, clerk; Donald G. Zeilenga, treasurer; and commissioners Larry Hartwig (municipal) and William J. Maio (county) in District 1, William Mueller, vice chairman (municipal) and Elizabeth Chaplin (county) in District 2, William Murphy (municipal) and Thomas Bennington (county) in District 3, Gregory Mathews (municipal) and Timothy Elliott (county) in District 4, Richard Furstenau (municipal) and Donald G. Zeilenga (county) in District 5, and Frank Saverino (municipal) and James Zay (county) District 6.—JAC


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There’s $162,000 budgeted for fire prevention inspectors and public education instructors? Do you have three full-time people doing this? That is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t say enough about that. Second of all, with all these problems with billing and you can’t figure it out and equate the hours, I’ve got an answer—privatization. Let’s say it again; privatize the fire department and get the bureaucracy out of it. Get somebody in there who needs to respond to a bottom line.


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I recently received a call from a woman who I understood was taking a survey for the Village of Lombard about water quality. I agreed to answer the questions because I understood that it was on behalf of the village. I answered about five or six questions regarding water quality and the type of house I live in, as in single family or townhouse. That question seemed a little annoying, but her last question of, Am I retired and do I own my home? really annoyed me. Of course I did not answer that one. I then got another call from a water company in Arlington Heights who reminded me that I took a water survey the last evening and he further stated that I had received a prize being drawn from the respondents. This is deceptive practice by the company. If somebody calls you about a survey, and I’ve checked with the village, there is none approved by the village.


You are correct. Information was printed in the April 14 edition of the Lombardian and Villa Park Review, that alerts residents of callers representing themselves as performing a village water survey when, in fact, they are not. And, as you stated, the next day, someone calls from Hydropure Water Solutions in Arlington Heights with the claim that the resident has won a prize; when it is delivered, the technician asks to check the water. Village employees who are IEPA certified water operators conduct water quality testing in Lombard each week, the press release states, and information on Lombard’s water quality—which meets all quality standards—is mailed to residents and published in the July issue of Lombard Pride. For more information, contact Angela Podesta, utilities superintendent, Department of Public Works, at 630-620-5740.—JAC


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Mayor Daley said if you don’t fill out the census forms you are cheating your family neighborhood and your children. I don’t believe one word he’s saying. The only people who are going to get cheated are the politicians, with their wasteful spending. If they don’t get all that money from the people, they can’t wastefully spend. Who in the world is he kidding? Does he think we don’t know what he really means? He’s not concerned about us at all.


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I’d like to know why it is if our schools have to cut budgets, lay off teachers and get rid of music and art programs, why is it our school bus drivers can use the school buses for doing their local grocery shopping around town? Buses are seen all day long in various shopping centers around town. Please find out why they can use our buses, which we’re paying for, and we can’t pay for teachers.

Jay Wojcik, Lombard Elementary School District 44 spokesperson, offered this information: “District 44 does not own any buses. We use Cottage Hill and pay them on a per/run basis.” Additionally, Peg Mannion, Glenbard Township High School District 87 spokesperson, related: “Glenbard District 87 contracts transportation services with First Student. According to First Student officials, their bus drivers may ‘park out’ with permission at shopping centers, or other legally allowed parking spot if the distance to their next pick-up or route destination is closer than it would be to return to the base in the interim—allowing for fuel savings and traffic congestion elimination from unnecessary trips.”—JAC


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