Hi, this is Lombard here. I was reading the police blotters recently and noticed that there was a lot of alcohol being sold to minors. I was wondering what was up with that? And, I think that this is a question that could be answered other than having to go to village officials. So, I’d really like this question to be answered.

I understand that you have a question, but due to village policy it is now against village policy to respond to or acknowledge any items from an anonymous source. The “no response” policy applies to any village employee or elected official. However, the following information was printed in a couple of recent articles. In the Aug. 24 issue of the Lombardian, Lombard Police Chief Ray Byrne said that of the 65 businesses checked, 19 were cited for violations. While employees of the businesses were cited for unlawful sale of alcohol to a minor, Byrne said a number of the employees reportedly asked to see an ID. “They [allegedly] looked at it, handed it back and made the sale,” the chief related, adding that this was “disappointing.” In the Sept. 7 issue of the Lombardian, Lombard Village President Bill Mueller, who also serves as the village’s liquor commissioner, said he, too, was disappointed. Mueller said although this is the first liquor compliance check that has been done in the last two or three years, it seemed like those who checked the IDs were “very complacent.” He also explained that the under-21 driver’s licenses are designed in a vertical fashion, while the over-21 driver’s licenses have a horizontal orientation. He related that a second violation could result in a $500 fine, as well as suspension of the liquor license. Any further questions will have to be addressed to someone at the Lombard Village Hall at 630-620-5700.—blm

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This is a concerned Lombard parent regarding Madison Meadow park and a young man driving a four-wheel vehicle, golf-cart like. It about hit us. I am pretty sure he was doing about 60 mph and was possibly intoxicated but continued to argue with us to get off the path. I was just curious if there is a speed limit in Madison Meadow park or if a police officer would kindly be able to keep them at a decent speed limit in that park to respect patrons.

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Hi, Lombard calling responding to the person who has the ideas for eliminating our problems with regard to immigration and the money and the jobs. Amen, you have my vote. Where can I sign up to run on your party ticket?

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This is Lombard calling. This is just a note to our president. If he wants to help the economy, he should bring back all the American soldiers and let them work in this country at our borders and let them spend their income here buying food and things in this country instead of spending all their money overseas. That would sure help our economy.

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St. Charles and Crescent Boulevard in Lombard. If you want to make a right turn from Crescent onto St. Charles, there is a sign that says no right turn. I see numerous people ignoring this sign and turning right. I think we ought to have some Lombard police enforce that no right turn sign .

The sign to which you refer actually says “No turn on red.”—JAC

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My fellow Lombardians: Mr. Hulseberg’s decision to restrict any answers in SPEAK OUT is not to save taxpayers’ money. His decisions on that topic show who wants control. Lombard needs a manager who works with the people’s needs and gets along what they really want, not what he thinks they should have. We did not vote for him; he was hired and works for us. I would like to hear how much better life is in Lombard since his employment over 10 years ago. Having lived in Lombard about 20 years, I think things have gone down, including attitudes of my neighbors. As for a collaborative attitude goes, Lombard needs change.

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This is Lombard calling. One of the problems we have in this country right now is everybody tries comparing what we’re going through now to things in the past and quite frankly, the ignorance of what happened in the past is another reason why we are in trouble. I was just talking to someone who told me our last double-dip was in 1983 under Reagan and unemployment was over 12 percent. That’s completely wrong. Our last double-dip recession was in 1981 and in 1983 we did not have unemployment of 12 percent. We need to look at what we have now and this president has failed us miserably. Let’s stop comparing to the past and look to the future. We need improvement now.

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Hi, I read in the Lombardian about the person who called SPEAK OUT about not raising our flags on Sept. 11. ABC does not allow their reporters to wear lapel pins, American flags and other patriotic insignia on the clothing. The reason; that ABC should remain neutral about causes. This is not correct. They are discouraging patriotism.

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This is Lombard calling to make a complaint with our wonderful post office. We had parked on the street in front of our mailbox and our next-door neighbor had parked on the street in front of their mailbox because they were blacktopping their driveway and there were a lot of cars in my driveway that had to pull in and pull out. The mail carrier, instead of stopping or even considering to stop and deliver the mail today, a Saturday, just drove right past both mailboxes, my next-door neighbor’s and mine, and just ignored that were were even there. Are too lazy to actually get out of their truck and deliver mail?

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To the person who admitted to being a so-called bully, I am all for freedom of speech as you stated is our constitutional right. At the same time, I am tired of all the vitriol being spewed back and forth between Democrats and Republicans in this column. Politics starts on the local level and I would like to see more calls about what’s going on in our communities, where we can maybe come together without party lines getting in the way. And, caller, I am not sure what your segue from freedom of expression to the village employees was all about. By the way, how do you know village employees are not feeling the economic deprivation of the unemployed? Just because they have jobs doesn’t mean they don’t have financial hardships. Single parent, maybe, unemployed spouse, medical issue in the family, who knows? That was not a fair statement.

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Hi, Lombard calling. It’s Falcon football season, Lombard, and we need to start obeying the pedestrian crossing signs on Wilson, please. Just the other day I observed a father and his two sons trying to cross the street where nobody would stop for them. Finally somebody did and they were able to cross the street. But not two minutes later there were two young boys and nobody would stop except for one lady and as she was slowing down to stop, the car behind her that was going too fast laid on the horn and almost hit her. So, if we could please be cognizant of the young kids trying to play football and enjoy themselves in Madison Meadow park. Lombard has great things to offer this town and it just takes one inattentive driver to turn it all bad.

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Please stop honking your horn when I sit at the railroad tracks waiting for the gate to go up after a train has passed. The law says I have to wait not just until the gates are all the way up but until the red flashing lights stop blinking. I’m staying put until then. It’s the law.

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Hello, Lombard library. Thanks for cleaning up the front of the library and doing a nice job on the landscaping. It really looks great.

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Once again, in SPEAK OUT, I see people venting about living next to train tracks and having the trains blow their horns at crossings, which they are supposed to do. Once again, you chose to live next to the railroad tracks, just as people who complain about flooding who live next to rivers, streams or creeks complain about flooding. You chose to live there. Stop complaining.

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Hi, Villa Park calling. This is in response to all the stop signs at the crosswalks in town. It’s amazing how many cyclists do not stop at their stop sign. I think the village can generate a lot of revenue just by posting somebody there because the pedestrians are supposed to stop before they come into the crosswalks and it’s amazing how many bicycles just shoot right through.

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Illinois ACT test scores document three in four high school students are not ready for college. Such vital information reflects inadequate preparation by the highly paid school teachers. We are talking about 75 percent of the state’s high school graduates. Look at your property tax bill and you will see that both the elementary and the high school tax figures comprise the largest percent of the total tax bill. Obviously we are not getting our money’s worth as indicated by the current ACT test scores. The quality of teaching is apparently substandard as indicated by the ACT test scores. We know that High School District 87 has been cited by the federal government for not complying with the No Child Left Behind regulation for years. The District 87 school board has frozen Superintendent Meissner’s salary for several years. Now’s the time to do the same for the certified teaching staff. Improvement is vital and necessary.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Great, job, Lombard, about putting out your American flag. Hey, let’s keep them up all year round. Lots of things have changed since 9/11. It’s been 10 years and we still have our freedom. So, God bless America. God bless Lombard and keep those American flags waving.

As a guide, ushistory.org offers the following with regard to flying the flag 24/7: “Section 6a: ‘It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.’ The Flag Code offers no additional guidance on what ‘properly illuminated’ means. We interpret it to mean that there should be either a light directly upon the flag or that there be sufficient local lighting to make the flag visible at night. If you cannot ‘properly illuminate’ your flag, we recommend that you retire it at sunset, as the Flag Rules specify. The American Legion defines proper illumination as a ‘light specifically placed to illuminate the flag (preferred) or having a light source sufficient to illuminate the flag so it is recognizable as such by the casual observer.’”—JAC

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To the caller in last week’s SPEAK OUT who called for the end of corporate subsidies and foreign aid, amen. That’s probably the most intelligent political comment I have ever read in SPEAK OUT. Thank you and keep them coming.

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In the 1700s there was a long list of grievances: taxes, repression of trade, heavy duties, import monopolies, government-held companies, restrictions, penalties and edicts. That was the British oppression. Now it’s our government. The Continental Congress wrote the declaration of rights and the people listened, like the tea party today. How many are ready to take our freedoms back again? November 2012 you’ll have another chance. Are you citizens who belong to God or are you subjects of the Obama government?

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Hi, this is Lombard calling in regard to the Terrace View/Park View pond. I have an idea. Why doesn’t the village manager get the money back for the aerators they bought to eliminate the swamp because they haven’t turned them on all summer; my understanding thousands of dollars were spent on that. Use the money to buy American flags for all the people who live in Lombard and give them all free American flags so we can display our flags? Lombard could be known as the Lilac and American flag capital? It’s a great country we live in. God bless America, God bless the Lombard village board members, even though I think they don’t do anything.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Parents, please tell your children to respect public property and our hard-earned tax dollars. Recently the village poured new concrete on the corners of the sidewalks in our area. However, some children waiting at the bus stop took it upon themselves to mess up the concrete while writing names in the concrete. Parents, watch your children and teach them respect for public property, especially with our hard-earned tax dollars. And you know who you are.

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Is the American dream for everyone but the legal, taxpaying American? Three Americans crossed the border into Iran illegally and got eight years in prison. In America it seems whoever crosses the border illegally gets a job, pays no income tax, gets free medical, hospital, food stamps, college for their four or more kids. In other words, the American dream. Everyone in America has to work years for these benefits. How about our elected officials working for us?

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Lombard calling. I read a comment left in SPEAK OUT Sept. 14 about the Villa Park adopt-a-fire hydrant program. Somebody had a question or seemed upset about the English only. People, wake up. This is America. That’s our language. We don’t need to have two, three or four different languages. English is the only language.

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Hey, Villa Park. I drove by Willowbrook High School on 9/11 and somebody surrounded the entire Willowbrook High School grounds with American flags. I don’t know who did that, but a big thumbs up, congratulations to them. It was a beautiful way to honor the 9/11 anniversary. It probably could not have been done by one person because there were a lot of flags out there. Good job, whoever did that on 9/11.

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I was at the memorial service for 9/11 and it was such a nice service. I thank everyone who put it together; it was very meaningful; I just can’t thank you enough. It was very, very special. Such a nice way to honor those who have made our country what it is and holding us all together. Thank you again.

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Hi, Lombard calling. Thanks, Lombard for hosting a wonderful commemoration of 9/11. It was a somber and dignified procession. The Glenbard East Madrigals sang beautifully and the speeches were perfect. We were very glad to witness the event and take part in it.