This is Villa Park calling. I recently went to the secretary of state’s office to renew the license plates on my vehicle. I stood in line and had my check ready and my insurance card, because I was sure they were going to ask me for the insurance card. I was under the impression that you had to show proof of insurance when you got your license plates. I got to the window and the person said, “I don’t need that” and gave my insurance card back to me and went ahead and processed my check and my renewal. I thought it was a law that you have to have insurance in order to get your license plates, but if the secretary of state isn’t enforcing it at the time of renewal, how can anyone else enforce it?

Villa Park Deputy Chief of Police Robert Budig looked into your inquiry, and explained: “We were informed that it is not required by their office to provide proof of insurance because by signing on the vehicle renewal registration application the person affirms that your vehicle will be properly insured throughout the registration period. This is explained on the registration application. In regard to the question “How can anyone else enforce it?” Illinois law requires that proof of insurance must be presented to law enforcement officers when requested. If they are unable to produce a valid insurance certificate/card then they will be issued a citation. In addition to a citation they risk having the vehicle they are driving impounded until they can provide proof of insurance if they do not have a valid driver’s license.” The deputy chief said that more information is available on the secretary of state’s Web site—www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/vehicles/mandatory_insurance.html.—JAC

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This is Lombard calling to the woman who thinks the drinking age should be 19. In my opinion, nobody at any age should be sent to war. I don’t understand how that has anything to do with lowering the drinking age. Alcohol is one of the most addictive drugs there is, just as addictive as heroin, cocaine and nicotine. It just happens to be legal and available on every street corner. Why, at any age, would you want your children drinking alcohol. The death certificate might say cirrhosis of the liver, heart disease, car accident, etc. A death certificate never says alcohol-related death. I bet alcohol kills more every year than war. That’s just my opinion.

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Overall I am pretty pleased with the way the storm was handled by public works. And although I wanted to gripe that the snowplow driver shoved snow back into my driveway after we’d shoveled, after watching how the process works, I realize they can’t help it. It is being shoved away from the street and what are they going to do, lift the plow as it passes your driveway? Then you people would complain that the section of street in front of your driveway is not plowed and you still can’t get out. I do wish the crews had removed side mounds at intersections that were obstructing the view of oncoming traffic. That’s the only other complaint.

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Hi, Lombard. I just wanted to say I attended Fitness February at the village Thursday night, and I want to say, what a wonderful effort. Healthy Lombard is doing much for our community and I hope it continues. I want to say thank you to all the sponsors out there helping support this wonderful initiative.

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Hi. To the person who’s fed up with the post office in Lombard, I have a telephone number for her in Carol Stream. The plant manager, Charles Sciurba, can be reached at 630-260-5140 or 5400. I hope she gets through. Good luck.

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It’s Feb. 3, 5 p.m., the day after the record snowfall. I understand that someone has to be the last to be plowed. Living on a cul-de-sac we don’t get first priority. However, we didn’t even have enough room down our street for an emergency vehicle. We had to go out to get something and went down Madison, and guess what, the cul-de-sac where our president lives was clear. Is he really more important than the rest of us? I think not.

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You global warming zealots crack me up. When it’s hot out, it’s caused by global warming. When we have a blizzard or freezing cold temperatures, it’s caused by global warming. Must be nice to not be wrong.

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I live in the 200 North Lombard Avenue block and this is a question for the snowplow driver who deposited a pile of snow 3 feet high and 4, almost 5 feet into my driveway when he plowed the street. As I looked down my street no one else had this amount of snow left in the driveway. It’s totally obvious to me from the marks I made in the pile of snow when I cleared my driveway the day before, that they went out of their way to use my driveway to deposit the snow they picked up from the corner down to my house, and I am livid. There’s no reason for them to do this. They could have gone another 3-4 feet and deposited it in the parkway.

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The following information is for the caller who expressed a concern regarding the negative comments directed toward the current Lombard village president. Prior to the three terms as village president, years ago Mr. Mueller was a trustee on the Lombard Village Board. He has been in public service for decades, during which the village hall was relocated from the downtown location to its present site. Park Avenue, once a through street from Maple to St. Charles Road, into downtown area was permanently closed to benefit the railroad. Two buildings, inactive but of historical significance, in the downtown area, were demolished. Two cinder-block houses of historical significance in close proximity to the downtown area were likewise demolished. Zitt’s farm and feed store in downtown Lombard was also demolished. The historical porches on the north and east sides of the historical Lombard Hotel were demolished. Other buildings were demolished, moved or relocated. We all know what happened to the historic DuPage Theatre and bowling alley. The wrecking ball strikes again.

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Lombard calling to compare the political lies of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. Palin was on the city council of an Alaska town of 6,000 people for four years, as mayor for six years. She was elected governor in 2006 and then resigned that position in 2009 after serving just 30 months of a four-year term. Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and then to the United States Senate in 2004, where he served four years before being elected president. The recent caller who claimed Obama had done nothing to serve the country must have been asleep for the past two years. Our country under Obama remains the strongest in the world two years after he inherited the financial and diplomatic disasters left behind by George Bush. Very unfair and uninformed to say he has done nothing for the country.

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Many Americans are having tough times. Homes are being foreclosed, families are going hungry, unemployment soared to 9.8 percent. What do our leaders do? Our leaders were deciding who should sit next to whom at the State of the Union. Just like grammar school. Are they out of touch with America?

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Just driving around the neighborhood and noticed that a house has several bags of leaves; I mean, eight to 10 bags of leaves on the front porch, which is not enclosed, I wonder if that’s a city ordinance. I did see the man in his little truck driving around my neighborhood looking at people who have their Christmas decorations up still. So, let’s please check on that house.

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I received a letter from one of the village trustees who is running for the position again, and the letter said Thank you for signing my petition to be on the ballot for municipal elections, April 5, 2011. I know for a fact I did not sign this person’s petition, nor did my wife sign it, as we signed the person’s who is running against the trustee for that position. I’m just wondering if there was any shenanigans going on and if my name was put on a petition by some unscrupulous person.

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This probably will not get published because it will be interpreted as sexist but quite frankly, it is just the opposite. It used to be that women would drive in the left lane whether they were going to turn left or not; apparently it’s easier to see the center line or something. The last couple of years I’ve noticed that everybody—men, women, older people—all drive in the left lane, even if the right lane is clear. I understand during rush hour you have to use all the available lanes. But when there are three cars on the road and you’re not going to turn for 10 miles, why are you in the left lane, particularly if you’re driving along next to somebody in the right lane and nobody behind you? Now everybody does it. There used to be signs that said to keep to the right except to pass. They should put them up again.

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This is for Bill Mueller, the village president of Lombard. Being that we pay very high taxes in Lombard, thank you, maybe your patrolmen can work eight hours a day instead of gathering on my street at the end of their shift at 2:30 and wasting my taxpayer money. If you’ve got eight or 10 patrolmen gathering at 2:30, and I know the shift ends at 3 o’clock, you’re wasting my taxpayer money. Maybe have a supervisor watch what your patrolmen are doing.

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This is Villa Park calling. A few weeks ago you were kind enough to answer our concerns in Villa Park about stores going in at the shopping center on Roosevelt and Summit in Oakbrook Terrace. Although the answer was adequate and wonderful about the new grocery store and shopping center going in, there has been no construction, a total standstill, since all of December, all of January and this part of February. Could you please update us on the shopping center on Roosevelt and Summit Avenue in Oakbrook Terrace?

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Lombard calling. This is in regard to a couple of SPEAK OUTs in the Jan. 26 paper. Number one; Greg Gron has been attending downtown forums that he’s hosted once a month that, by the way, all residents are invited to. Second, if you think it’s so easy to revitalize our downtown, then step up to the plate and start coming to the forums. I understand we vote the trustees into office, but when it comes down to it, the property owners won’t upgrade their property, or can’t due to financial reasons. Until the properties are brought up to code, they will never get rented. I feel it’s up to the whole village to step up to the plate and quit being chiefs and start being Indians. This is a challenge.

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Kudos to the Lombard Police Department for stopping and controlling the area on North Main Street near Pleasant Lane Elementary School. I drive by there every day and people do 40, 45, 50 mph through that school zone, so hats off for our fine law enforcement officials for doing their jobs and doing it well.

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This is Villa Park calling. I saw on the front page of the Villa Park Review about the red light cameras, and I’d like to ask a question. I see in one location in a three-month period they took in $36,500 and Villa Park claims they’re taking in between $20,000 and $25,000 a month. I’d like to know what they’re doing with this money because our streets are still not fixed and they claim they’re broke. Where is all this money going?

Into the general fund, according to Villa Park Deputy Police Chief Robert Budig.—blm

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After the blizzard of 2011, I’m wondering, how much snow fell? Not in terms of inches—in terms of weight. All of that snow—how much did it weigh in total? In Lombard alone, there must be tons and tons of snow. Throughout Illinois and the Midwest, the blizzard must have produced billions of tons of snow in a period of less than 24 hours. How could anyone, even the most ardent global-warming proponent, witness this storm and believe that humans have any control over the weather?

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I want to thank Hank Ebeling from Steuerle Funeral Home in Villa Park for coming to the rescue of several senior citizens Wednesday after the snow storm.  Thank you for personally clearing our driveways with your snowblower.  This was a warm, generous act of kindness. Removing the ice-packed snow of 3-4 feet which was left by the village snowplow was extremely difficult but you did it. There was peace of mind at one home where aides are on 10 hour shifts for an 89-year-old woman. The aide’s car was buried in the driveway. Thanks and God bless you Hank. Also, my thanks to Villa Park crew who did a beautiful job of removing the heavy, deep snow from our streets.

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This is Lombard calling. Now that the red lights are down, who paid for removing all of them?

According to Lombard Police Chief Ray Byrne, the cameras were removed by (RedSpeed Illinois), the company that owned them. There were no costs or charges associated with their removal.—blm

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Hi, a month or so ago my 11-year-old daughter called and asked about that big steel structure over the train tracks at Finley Road. Can you get an answer?

Union Pacific Railroad spokesperson Mark Davis said the structure is a “signal bridge” that holds railroad signals. It was completed in late spring, early summer of 2010.—JAC