Hey, Lombard, nice finances. You just found that big money. Why are you repaving Finley Road? Have you driven on North Grace Street and a few other streets lately?

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By edict, with bypassing Congress, Obama and the EPA are reducing one fifth of our coal capacity, resulting in the loss of 1.4 million jobs, rolling blackouts across the United States and exorbitant costs on all of our energy bills. Call your congressman or you’re going to be sorry because this president is ruining our country.

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Hi, this is Lombard. In reply to the person saying to go ahead and answer the anonymous questionnaire that was going to be sent out, saying that the trustees would say that they didn’t hear from us, therefore they got no input; it’s quite unusual because they don’t listen to us so why should we respond to them? They don’t even answer the Lombardian questions and this was in the Wednesday, Aug. 10 Lombardian.

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The Speaker of the House John Boehner came to Hinsdale—referred to in SPEAK OUT as a Tea Party country club—to fundraise to try to fight the Illinois Dems’ plan to redistrict Republicans out of their elected seats thanks to state gerrymandering. Boehner is a Republican, not a member of any Tea Party. In fact, many in the Tea Party want him ousted. And to clarify, the Tea Party is not a political organization. We are individual groups of people who are fed up with business as usual. A few years ago the liberal Dems used to have some commonalities with the Tea Party—until Obama got in and the liberals decided even more wasteful spending or continuing wars is acceptable.

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Dear fellow Lombardians, Grow up. I am amazed that my neighbors are acting like such bullies, calling for Mr. Hulseberg’s dismissal over the enactment of a policy that actually stops wasting taxpayer money spent responding to inane whiners in the Speak Out column. Frankly, I say “good for Mr. Hulseberg” for directing our village employees to concentrate fully on the work they are being paid to do. Some of us interpret the policy as a statement of “We don’t spend your hard-earned money (i.e. taxpayers fund the village staff salaries) responding to people who choose to vent their opinions, accusations and complaints through anonymous newspaper columns” and for that I am appreciative. For those who are adamant about getting more answers, I challenge you to come out and become a positive part of the community. Lombard doesn’t need bullies—it needs proactive citizens. This ludicrous demand for the village manager’s dismissal is a good example of how a “collaborative attitude” is obviously missing in certain segments of our community. Collaboration doesn’t mean we all have to agree—its underlying principle is that individuals bring different opinions to a discussion—but the goal is ultimately to find common ground and solutions that benefit all. Lombard is my home and I would like to see less bully behavior in my neighborhood and in the Speak Out column.   

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How is the village board going to handle the transparency policy for their employees? There seems to be a split according to a newspaper article. If you want to work for the government and enjoy the same paycheck every two weeks, no matter how hard you work, no matter how bad the economy, then accept the other things that come with it, like having your name and salary on the Web site. Is this listing going to include the manager’s salary and perks, i.e. mid six-figure salary, free car, phone, computer and golfing while at work?

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Listen up, seniors. We are the ones supporting the whole economy. If you shut off the old people, you can close all the restaurants, all the stores, all the shopping, everything. Seniors are the only ones out there spending money. So I would like to know, if there is no money to increase our Social Security or medical care, then why are the unions constantly getting increases in pay, when a portion of the money they get goes back to the politicians to increase more taxes? This is literally wrong. This is nonsense. If we can’t get an increase in Social Security or medical care, then unions should not be allowed to get their increases and pass it on to us. Think it over, ladies and gentlemen. This process has to cease.

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I read about German Fest and the police command vehicle and it was a very nice answer that Sacred Heart Parish pays for off-duty Lombard officers for security. That doesn’t appear to be the question. Who paid for the security vehicle and were the officers in the security vehicle off duty, and if they were off duty, why were they using village property? I think that is the question. I think that should be answered. I think it is scandalous if the village let their resources be used by off-duty officers for personal gain and my tax dollars going down the drain.

Although we did obtain an answer for you concerning the German Fest, we are unable to obtain an answer to the portion of the question pertaining to the use of the command vehicle from the police department due to a new village policy, which was approved by Lombard trustees on May 19. It is against village policy to acknowledge or respond to any item that is from an anonymous source. As we have said in the past, questions regarding the village should be directed to the Lombard Village Hall at 630-620-5700 for assistance.—blm

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I just wanted to say your picture article of the five Scotts was very clever and what a great way of helping us remember the name of our newest member of the police department.

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Paradise Bay calling. It’s Thursday, Aug. 23, hot and sunny, 4:15 p.m. The pool is closed. Paradise Bay is closed on a summer afternoon, hot and sunny.

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Hello, Lombard. Instead of spending your windfall fixing the street that really isn’t all that bad, how about fixing some of the flooding in this town?

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This is in regard to county board member Reddick and how he said his committee cut benefits to county employees to save the county money. Well, as a county employee I accept that but I think the county board should go further than that and cut the lifetime health insurance they get from the county and reduce their pension plan because their pension plan is better than ours.

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Lombard calling. I would like to know if the leash law for dogs is consistently enforced. Too many dogs running loose in my neighborhood. I’m scared to death to walk around the area anymore because of these experiences. Perhaps the penalty for letting your dog run loose should cost more. Maybe these pet owners would act more responsibly. It is not right that pedestrians have to be fearful like this.

Sorry, we are unable to obtain an answer to your question due to a new village policy, which was approved by Lombard trustees on May 19. It is against village policy to acknowledge or respond to any item that is from an anonymous source. Anyone with questions regarding the village should contact the Lombard Village Hall at 630-620-5700 for assistance.—blm

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Mr. Hulseberg sent me one of the survey forms in the mail. Most of the questions are grading the village employees who have been with Lombard for many years. I can’t say I have ever dealt with any who weren’t dedicated to Lombard. He has been our community developer for many years. We need a survey to get ideas for filling the empty lots and buildings. Let’s start by putting something on the lot the village owns at Parkside and Main Street. The village employees’ time could be better spent than mowing the grass.

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This is Lombard calling. I agree with the person who says police should be paying more attention to the underage drinking. He or she is absolutely right about that. There is no reason for it. The police need to get their act together and start worrying about those things, the major things, instead of the tiny little things like ticketing poor people. Just straighten up and fly right.

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Hi, this is Villa Park calling. This past Sunday I went to the farmers market and it was very nice, but my one concern is that there was garbage all over the place. The nearest garbage can is on the other side of the Prairie Path. I know people shouldn’t litter, but Villa Park should get somebody out there Sunday morning before the farmers market and pick up all the garbage. It makes our town look bad.

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Hi, just wanted to say another great year at Cruise Nights. I wanted to thank everybody who helps make that happen. We enjoyed a lot of fine dining downtown, and again, I appreciate whoever puts that together. Kudos to everybody.

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This is Lombard calling. A recent caller said Obama was the worst thing that ever happened to us and I wonder, has that caller ever heard of the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam or 9-11? Or more importantly, has he or she ever heard of George W. Bush, who lied us into a basically unnecessary war? This is one patriot who cannot forgive George Bush for that. I nominate him as the worst.

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This is Meadowlarks Quilt Club at Sunset Knoll in Lombard. If there’s anyone out there who can donate yarn or quilting fabric to the Meadowlarks to provide for the babies in the NICU, Hines Hospital for all our veterans and all the seniors and other children in need, we are in need mainly of a lot of yarn. Thank you.

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Hello. Last week a caller was spot on. It’s ridiculous that the village would be creative or spend money and be concerned about our public safety in fire, police, medical services, public works. Oh, my goodness.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling to say that Potted Petals is the most beautiful corner in Lombard outside of Lilacia Park. I have to give her so much credit. I wish every business on every corner in Lombard could look like that.

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For the past several months I’ve made repeated calls to the Village of Lombard regarding the unsafe condition of the paver sidewalks along South Park Avenue from Maple to the railroad tracks. The receptionist who answers the phone always thanks me for the call and says, I’ll send someone out there promptly. Evidently there is a breakdown of communication somewhere. There are numerous pieces and old paver bricks missing from the sidewalk and could cause a person to trip and fall. Hopefully someone from the village will read this notice and respond promptly.

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Hi, Villa Park calling here. I’d like to express my great disappointment with the Lombard driver along Main Street, Grace and the Prairie Path. I have seen many vehicles not stopping for the pedestrians, bicyclists and runners. I think maybe Lombard needs to get those really cool neon signs that Villa Park has installed along the Prairie Path and the street. Drivers are now asked to stop, which is the law, for pedestrians, bicyclists and runners, so Lombard, why don’t you show some respect for people on the Prairie Path and stop when you see people there and do what Villa Park has and put up some stop signs?

There seems to be continued confusion over “who stops and who goes,” as stated in the Villa Park Review headline of Wednesday, Aug. 17. As Villa Park Police Chief John Hedelmeier stated in the article, motorists are required to stop for pedestrians who are already “within” the intersection—keyword within—and the law does not refer to bicyclists. However, if you will notice at both Prairie Path crossings in Lombard and Villa Park, those using the Prairie Path have stop signs at the intersections, indicating that users must stop before proceeding across the street. Furthermore, the state code, 625 ILCS 5/11-1002, Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1002, states that pedestrians are not allowed to “suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a moving vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.” In other words, Prairie Path users need to come to a stop before crossing the street, and as the chief said, caution and common sense are the best approach—literally.—JAC

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Last week’s SPEAK OUT feature included an interesting call which listed the base salaries of our U.S. representatives and senators. It was a good start, but the wealth of our members of Congress is actually more startling. As of 2010, there were 261 millionaires in Congress, including 55 with a net worth of more than $10 million, and eight with a personal wealth exceeding $100 million. Even in this recession their personal wealth has grown by 16 percent, with a median in 2009 of $911,540. These legislators vote in their own salaries and other benefits, so it’s highly unlikely they will pass legislation raising taxes on the "rich" defined by Obama as those having an annual income exceeding $250,000. They are the rich.

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Kudos to Lombard for getting the streets all finished before our children started school—not. Come on, Lombard, let’s take care of our children. Let’s do the construction before school starts and have it finished.

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This is Villa Park calling. We are having trouble. We live in the neighborhood of Strat's Diner on North Avenue. We have called the police; they are doing nothing about it. There are videos on YouTube of kids almost getting run over, crashes—kids are taking this and broadcasting it so we have proof what is going on. Someone is going to get killed. Go to YouTube videos and look at all the videos the kids are putting up and the danger that's going on in our town. The police are turning a blind eye.

According to Villa Park Police Deputy Chief Robert Budig, officers have been assigned here, numerous tickets have been issued and arrests have been made. He added that the police department has put things in place to reduce the crowds by entering into agreements with surrounding businesses in the area. These businesses have posted their lots for no parking after business hours. Any vehicles found in these lots after hours will be towed, Budig related.—blm