Hi, this is Lombard calling and I’m disappointed in the recent decline in test scores at Willowbrook and Addison Trail high schools. It appears as of the most recent listing of this on Halloween, that these schools have dropped more than any other schools in the state of Illinois—over 20 points by Willowbrook in all areas. It’s very concerning. The ACT is very important to our children who are going to college and I am wondering what Willowbrook has to say about this, their response to this huge decline.

“We understand there’s a lot of information out there regarding test scores, and it can be difficult to sift through that information and find the whole picture,” the High School District 88 administration responded. The district emphasized its dedication and commitment to student achievement and success, but also acknowledged, “As you mentioned, District 88, like many districts, did not make AYP [adequate yearly progress] this year and had a decrease in the percent of students who passed [state exams].” The district went on to outline a number of tools and programs it uses to “enable students to succeed,” and added that the district “continuously evaluates these areas.” Additional comments included a pledge to provide a high-quality education and academic success for each student, adding, “We look forward to improved test scores and a higher pass rate next year.” While too lengthy to mention in its entirety, District 88 offered a number of facts and statistics related to graduation rates, student growth and test scores, which can be viewed at www.dupage88.net.—JAC

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I just got through watching the board meeting on Thursday evening and it seems as though these meetings get shorter and shorter and more and more boring every time. Nobody ever says anything. And especially tonight, when they were discussing the reduction of senior citizens’ vehicle stickers for $21 lifetime. There was one approval by Trustee Gron and Trustee Ware vetoed the approval and nobody else said why; even Trustee Ware didn’t say why. It just seems kind of strange to me that if you’re vetoing it, why you’re vetoing it.

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Hello, Lombard, just wanted to say good job to all the Lombardians in the holiday spirit this year. The residential streets I drive down are lit up and decorated beautifully. I am proud to be a resident of Lombard and thanks for brightening up Lombard and everyone’s spirits.

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Our state politicians are giving tax breaks to Sears, CME, Caterpillar and other companies so they stay and keep jobs in this area. The one thing I think should be stipulated is when they do that, these companies cannot contribute to the politicians’ campaign fund. What is this supposed to be, trading dollars? If they give them tax breaks to stay in this area and save our jobs, that may help, but these companies cannot contribute to the campaign funds of those politicians who gave them tax breaks. This reciprocity process must cease and it must cease now.

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I have a question. I’m calling from Villa Park. In the spring of this year, a tree was removed from the parkway of my house. At that time I was told not to expect the stump to be removed right away. Well, it’s almost winter now and the high ugly stump is still there. Also, a new “do not park” sign was placed in front of my house. The old, rusty post has not been removed. Does it take a special crew or talent to take out the old post? This all looks very ugly in front of my house, for which I pay well over $7,000 in taxes. This is South Wisconsin Avenue in Villa Park.

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In a recent SPEAK OUT a caller called in and complained about the salaries of employees of School District 45 and District 44, that they’re put in the paper. And I quote, the person said, “What is it anybody’s business except the person who gets paid to have their name flat-out put in the paper?” You know what, as the taxpayer, as the employer of these people, it is our right to know what they get paid. It is our right to know what their pensions are. This way we can make an informed decision on whether our employees deserve this salary or not. Excuse me, but in case you haven’t noticed, it’s a problem with this country right now. It is our business as the taxpayer to know where every single penny goes, right down to the janitor in a school.

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At the last village meeting, Dec. 1 I think it was, Greg Gron brought a motion to give us a lifetime vehicle sticker pass for $21 versus the $3 every year. He presented this in a motion and not one village trustee seconded the motion. All you seniors in Lombard, please let your trustees know you’re not going to vote for them. What an insult to us because of petty politics. And by the way, Greg Gron is the finance committee chairman and Bill Ware is the second in charge; and Bill Ware voted no, to take this away from us, which never passed. What a disgrace to us seniors. I hope we vote you out because seniors are the largest voting block in the United States, not to mention Lombard.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I just heard a rumor that starting the first of the year, you can no longer toss out TVs, computers or any kind of electronics equipment for the garbage collectors to pick up. If that is true, what do you do with it?

A Village of Lombard news release from October 24 states, “A statewide electronics landfill ban will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. This means that with the start of the new year, electronic items will not be able to be disposed as trash. Rather, they must be recycled by a registered collector, recycler and/or manufacturer.”
A Dec. 9 DuPage County press release said that residents can contact their waste hauler and municipality about the new law. More information is available at www.dupageco.org/recycling.
Villa Park has a drop-off at the village hall parking lot from 9 a.m. to noon on the fourth Saturday of the month. The lot is located at 20 S. Ardmore Ave. Call 630-834-8500 for details. Additionally, you can drop off items at the York Township Highway Department, 19W475 Roosevelt Road, Lombard, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 630-627-2200 or e-mail yorkhwy@sbcglobal.net for details on allowed items.—JAC

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This is Lombard calling. In regard to trustee Gron opening up a pizza place in another town, I, too, am unhappy with this. What it tells me is that as a trustee, he has no faith in our town, he has no faith in our village manager or village planner, that we can support another restaurant, which is absolutely not true. Go up to Butterfield Road—there is restaurant after restaurant after restaurant. Competition is the best thing for any restaurant. I can’t believe he opened up a restaurant in a different town. And then this same trustee says we need to raise property taxes or cut services? I’m sorry, folks, but it’s time to vote these people out. Let’s start by cutting all of the union salaries, all of the union pensions; every single person who works for this village should have their pay cut before they raise taxes because, quite frankly, what services do we get; Cruise Nights? Hip, hip hooray.

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I just got the Lombard Pride and regarding the referendum posed residents to reduce the energy costs, mine to the village: You’ve done so well with our downtown. You’ve done so well with the train tracks and the whistles blowing. You’ve done so well with the Westin Hotel. You’ve done so well in keeping my property taxes down. You’ve done so well with so many things, what would make you think I would ever trust you to lower my energy costs? You must be kidding me. I find you totally inept. I can hardly wait for the elections.

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I would like to respond to a Speak Out a couple of weeks ago and a subsequent response written in “Opinion” the following week.  It pertains to our trustee Greg Gron opening a restaurant in another town.  While I respect Mr. Masterson’s response in “Opinion,” Mr. Masterson needs to understand that while he had the information that Mr Gron was opening another Bricks which obviously cannot be opened in downtown Lombard, the majority of the downtown businesses were not privy to this information—mainly because the majority of the downtown businesses have had no communication from our trustee since his re-election. Yes, I agree that the opening of another Bricks is a huge accomplishment for the owner, Bill, and he definitely deserves all of our best wishes.  However, wouldn’t it have been great for our trustee to announce it to all of us so everyone could understand what was happening and avoid the inaccurate information? There is a growing concern among most of the downtown businesses with the lack of communication and support we have received from our trustee and Mr. Masterson needs to respect our feelings also. Just because he has the “inside” information on what is happening, it doesn’t make the rest of the businesses’ concerns and feelings invalid. Nor does it warrant an apology, as Mr. Masterson suggested, to Mr Gron. 

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I had the good fortune of going past Lilacia Park Saturday evening. What a magnificent site. The lights are beautiful. I remember quite a few years ago there were a few lights, it was very pretty; but oh, my goodness, how gorgeous. Thank you, Lombard Park District for making such a wonderful display. It really warmed my heart and made my Christmas. Merry Christmas to all.

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I’m a Lombard resident. This is in regard to several comments in the Wednesday, Dec. 7, edition, about the activities, or inactivity, of our village trustees. Remember the old adage, anyone who is so stupid as to want the job isn’t intelligent enough to handle it.

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We have a lot of misplaced priorities in this country. Instead of spending billions of dollars to satisfy a few to fly to the moon and check things out, why don’t we spend that money providing good food, less sickness, less hospital costs and insurance, etc.? We have lots of land in this country, and we should have animals instead of being injected with hormones and given raw food, they should be left to graze. It’s much healthier for you and their raw certified milk is much healthier for you. This is nonsense. We’re spending money in the wrong place. We would have healthier people and we wouldn’t have to spend billions on doctors and hospitals. Let’s get our priorities straight, politicians, or get out of office and let somebody else do the job.

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Hi, this is an answer to the person who wants to know about the cameras, not just at Main and Madison but at various locations around Lombard. I used to live next to public works and over the years when they first went up I happened to come across one of the workers and asked him about this. What I have to say is not exactly in their words but what I remember them saying was that it’s hooked to a central computer system and is there to recognize cars; in an ideal world, not in a major traffic situation, it will change the timing of the lights to improve your experience through that intersection. I did ask the question—it is being digitally recorded; it is possible to review the scenes on those cameras to investigate crashes. I hope that helps. It’s really what I remember; this was a couple of years ago. Thanks, Lombard, and have a nice Christmas.

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I would like to congratulate the fire department of Lombard. My carbon monoxide detector went off and I called the fire department and within minutes they were here. They went throughout the whole house with their meters, and it ended up that the carbon monoxide detector that I had was no good. I would like to thank them very much for coming out so fast and being so polite. They even shook hands with us. Thank you very much and I really appreciate the fire department.

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Lombard calling. Kudos to District 87 and their decision to name the music wing at Glenbard East after Mr. Ross Kellan. He is a consummate gentleman and educator. He has touched many students’ lives through the years, all for the better; my wife and children being among them. After having watched Mr. Kellan conduct the Elmhurst College Christmas concert on Dec. 12, all I can say is, kudos. Mr. Kellan, you still have it. Best wishes.

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To the person who objected to being awakened by the emergency callback system, if you signed up for it I would think you would be grateful that it worked, rather than complain. Emergencies or threats to our safety don’t follow a timetable. And how would you feel if somebody grumbled about a call based on an emergency that involved you or your loved ones? Inconvenient? Maybe, but at least you know the system is working. Please rethink your annoyance and be grateful there is such a program in place.

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Hello. Those so-called cameras at Main and Madison, as well as other intersections throughout the area, are traffic sensors. They sense the traffic and thereby control the lights. As new intersections are being built or old ones are being rebuilt with lights and so forth, they are no longer putting sensors in the road but are installing the camera-like devices. This has been an unofficial—having nothing to do with Lombard—announcement.