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?

Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci responded: “Construction has started again; they couldn’t work due to the weather. Completion for Pete’s Fresh Market is slated for end of July.”—JAC

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Lombard calling. Three-term limit on trustees, not. I have lived in Lombard over five decades. A decade is 10 years. By my observation it takes one full term before a trustee gets a real handle on issues and past history. If a trustee is up for re-election and you or someone else is better, let’s vote him or her in. This is about knowledge, not a popularity contest. But please, don’t ask me to vote for inexperience because that’s the only option. Remember this when you go to the next election ballot.

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Lombard calling with this on my mind. I had the need to call about problems with my Internet service. The first thing I heard, even before I got to the ridiculous menu-driven call system, was a message that if I wanted the call to be in English, I had to press 1. This is the United States of America and English is our official language. English should be the default language. You should not have to press 1 to connect your call in English. This goes for all entities in the U.S.—businesses, government agencies, organizations of all kinds, educational institutions of all levels, religions of all kinds, etc. English should be the default language for all their business. If any group or organization wants to provide additional languages as an option that is fine, but English should be the default language and not require any additional actions to get English.

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This is Lombard calling. I noticed something very concerning to me about the water from my tap in the kitchen. A very strong odor of chlorine hit me. I dumped the water and filled it again with water from the tap. I did this each time; a very strong pungent smell of chlorine hit my nose, but then it would only last a couple of seconds and the smell went away. I’m wondering if anyone else is noticing this in their water and how much chlorine is being put into our water here in Lombard.

In a “Frequently Asked Questions” segment of the Village of Lombard Web site, the question is posed about the taste or smell of chlorine in the water. The village’s response is, “Chlorine is added to drinking water for several reasons. First and foremost, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency require that all water plants disinfect the water. The Chicago Water Department [uses] powdered activated carbon (PAC). Second, a minimal amount of chlorine is added to assure that the water remains safe as it travels from the treatment plant to your home. A few individuals, who are sensitive to chlorine, can detect the chlorine taste and odor at these low levels.”—JAC

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On Feb. 15, about 1 p.m., a school day, I went to the village to mail a letter and came out on the west side, on Hammerschmidt Street, and on the east side there are several signs that say, “No Parking.” The whole street was filled with cars and trucks and none of them had tickets on them. I thought our tax dollars went for the police to uphold the law. I’m sure if I lived on Hammerschmidt and had some guests there the police would be out lickety split and have tickets on them. It just doesn’t seem fair.

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I’m calling from Lombard. At the village board meeting they led us to believe they were going to spend about $28,000 for a social service program to come to the village and be available to us residents, which sounded good. But now it sounds like they’re also going to have an employee assistance package for another $40,000 to $50,000, and when I call the village, no one will give me a straight answer. Is there any way the people at SPEAK OUT can get further than me? I’d appreciate it and so would the other residents of Lombard.

According to Lombard Village Manager Dave Hulseberg, the employee assistance program you speak of currently costs the village about $4,000 a year. Hulseberg said the village is merging the two contracts for the social service program and the employee assistance program, which will cost the village approximately $28,000. This will fall under the budget, which begins June 1.—blm

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Hi, I saw a big sign on a church that said “Pray for peace in Afghanistan.” This bothered me because quite frankly, I think we’ve got enough to pray for in our own country. I think we should pray for peace in America, pray that we don't all lose our houses and then end up homeless, pray that there are better jobs. That’s the problem with this country; we’re always worried about everybody else's country. Let's pray for ourselves—we’ve got enough problems here.

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I’d like to point out a few important facts for you people who like to be informed. On page 4 of the Feb. 6 Chicago Tribune there is a list of 14 countries on the edge of problems, and two of the countries, I’d like to point out, the United States gives the highest amount of foreign aid to—Egypt and Israel. Why do we give all that money to those two countries? You know what? Israel ranks the highest with gross domestic product per capita; $29,500 per person. Even Saudi Arabia doesn't equal that amount; theirs is only $24,200. Why are we giving all this money to those people? Why aren’t they standing on their own two feet? And why is our country so generous to them? They’re taking our taxes and giving it away. We need the money here to care for ourselves, our health care and everything else. Something’s wrong in our country. People, open your minds and speak up to your politicians.

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Hi, the kids are doing skateboarding on the street again on my block. Is there some way you can stop it? They do it between 2-4 p.m. when kids are in school and just getting out. They have these great big, long jumping things that they made with wood, and the cars have to stop. My kids go to the grade school and the high school. It’s very hard to get by when there are three cars parked on the street and two giant jumping things. The police can’t come through every street. I wish they could come down my street between 2-4 p.m. during the day. I guess the one boy doesn’t go to school. Help. Our neighborhood needs help. We all drive down that street. If we say something they give us the finger. Please find out if you can do something about it.

Your comment was forwarded to Lombard Police Chief Ray Byrne, who said, “Any resident or motorist experiencing a problem such as this should not hesitate to call 9-1-1 and a police officer will respond.”—blm

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To the caller on Feb. 16 about everybody driving in the left lane, the reason is that the roads in Illinois are in such disrepair, the inside lane has less potholes and you don't wear out your front suspension as fast. Being a mechanic, I prefer everybody drive in the right lane. They might not see the center line but it bolsters my bottom line.

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Lombard calling. There’s a group that keeps placing hand-delivered mail in the mailbox without paying postage for it. I went to talk with them and they said it’s OK. No. I called the U.S. Postal Service and I’ve tried complaining to the Lombard post office. Free mail delivery. They feel they’re entitled not to pay postage. To me, that’s a federal offense.

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Many Americans in our great republic are going through tough and dangerous times. Republicans, Democrats and Independents seem oblivious to the plight of both. Instead of placing blame, leaders should roll up their sleeves, stop the constant chatter and get to work. Billions of dollars of interest are being paid per day. Cut our spending. Our deficit is climbing to almost $15 trillion. Cut spending. Millions of homes are being foreclosed in a 9.6 percent unemployment. Allow the private sector to develop jobs, not government. The people of this great country elected our leaders to make the hard choices, so do your job.

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This is Villa Park calling. I just want to say how much I enjoy seeing Chico the canine officer and the officer who assists him, in the local police reports in Villa Park and Lombard. It would be nice if we could print a picture of him and put his picture in the paper as our canine companions are important in everything and obviously in crime fighting.