While driving east on Edgewood after a right turn off Route 53, I noticed the flashing yellow light at a sharp curve was not illuminated. Bushes and tall grass have covered the usually flashing yellow light. Who’s responsible for maintaining this very important flashing caution light, the village or the township?

Gary Muehlfelt, Milton Township highway commissioner, said he is aware of a curve warning sign on Edgewood, but not the flashing light to which you refer. He said that prior to contacting him, “We did remove some growth around the curve sign.” He said he would check the area once again and later responded, “No, I was not able to find anything. I personally went out there and also talked with Dick Schroeder (York Township highway commissioner) regarding this. The sign that had brush in front of it, we cut before you even contacted us, so I’m not seeing any problems out there.” He also noted that “The flashing yellow light has all of us perplexed,” and wondered if it could be from a barricade or other contract work. If you have further concerns, contact the Milton Township Highway Department at 630-682-4270.—JAC

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Hi, this is a concerned citizen in Lombard. I was driving through downtown Lombard on Sept. 11 and there wasn’t one flag out in our community. Every other community had their American flag proudly displayed but not Lombard. Can someone please clarify as to why?

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I am nameless. I will say how unbelievable the technology in our village is. If you ever watch the village meetings you will see unnamed trustees texting during the village board meetings. It appears they were texting to each other as the meeting is going on and texting to members in the audience and it appears unnamed members in the audience are replying to their text. I would be interested to know if you could find out if texting violates the Open Meetings Act. I know the village won’t answer that but maybe the county will. It’s just really amazing if you ever watch it. It looks like they’re carrying on a meeting inside the meeting which nobody knows what they’re texting about.

When asked if there is a provision in the state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA) specific to texting during a public meeting, Public Access Bureau attorney John Schmidt responded, “Not really.” He added that it would be hard to say without knowing what is in the text whether a violation has occurred. Additionally, the OMA itself does not address texting during a public meeting; it does refer to e-mailing and chat room use by saying, “Exchanges of e-mail and chat room discussions on issues being deliberated by the public body that have as their intent the formulation of policy outside the public view violate the spirit if not the letter of the Open Meetings Act.” The question, as Schmidt reiterated, is whether this behavior is considered to be taking place “outside the public view.” A little research shows that states such as Texas, Utah and Michigan are considering bans on the use of electronic communication devices during open meetings. “The spirit of the Open Meetings Act is that public business be conducted publicly,” Schmidt concluded. Visit www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov or http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net for more information on filing a complaint or learning more about the OMA.—JAC

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I used to be a Republican, but no more. The Republicans are allowing themselves to be bullied by the anti-government, racist, right-wing tea party. Also, disrespect for President Obama is disgusting. Even if you disagree on policies, you should at least respect the office. I will never vote for a Republican again.

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Hello, Lombard here. We have to get rid of the EPA and Obama, who just asked us to put our kids in the hole for another half-trillion in stimulus pay for the public unions. He’s the worst thing that ever happened to our country. God bless America.

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Does anyone know if there is a noise ordinance in Villa Park? For years now there has been a problem house on my block. For every holiday, every birthday and any occasion you can imagine they have large loud parties. I think it is fine to have a party but when it disturbs other people, I feel, it is very inconsiderate and rude. Talking to them doesn’t work.  The music is so loud it can be heard half a block down with the windows closed.  The home is also known to host underage parties. They set up professional grade speakers in the backyard as if they are in a nightclub. This goes on all night and the street is packed corner to corner with cars until the next day. The Villa Park police are always called out but they do nothing. The cars that are on the street all night are never ticketed. Thanks Villa Park police for doing nothing. They all laugh when you leave because they know that yet again they have gotten away with it. And thanks to the Villa Park police for making law abiding citizens, looking for some peace and quiet, look like the bad guy.

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I want to thank the Lombard Police department for cracking down on underage drinking. I noticed in the police reports several arrests for underage drinking at a party in a home in Lombard.  Thanks for making our town a safer place. I hope that the parents whose home the party was held in will also be cited. 

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To the longtime U.S. Postal Service employee who stated in the Sept. 14 SPEAK OUT that the USPS receives no help from the government: What a crock. The U.S. postmaster general just said that the country’s current mail system is no longer financially sustainable. The simple truth is the USPS loses billions of dollars per year. Labor costs represents 80 percent of expenses. Part of the problem is that postal workers’ powerful unions have negotiated no-layoff clauses and better benefits than most federal employees. Another part of the problem is that the USPS, unlike a private enterprise, needs approval from Congress to enact cost-cutting measures like making layoffs, ending Saturday delivery, or raising the price of a stamp. We all know where this is headed. The USPS is already asking Congress for a bailout. No help from the government? Please.

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Yes, could you tell me why there is no sidewalk on five houses just east of Route 53 on St. Charles Road? I almost got hit by a car trying to jump off the street into the grass there. It’s very dangerous and I don’t understand why those few houses don’t have sidewalks there.

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Hi, SPEAK OUT, this is Lombard calling. I just wanted to answer a question from a Villa Park resident regarding the hydrant painting program they’re doing in Villa Park. The question is why English only. Well, this is America and we speak English. Why should there be any foreign language words on any of those hydrants that get painted?

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Hi, Lombard calling. I would just like to congratulate the Lombard Historical Society on a great fundraiser pub crawl that as held on Sept. 9. I never participated in a historical society event and I’m not affiliated with them, but saw it advertised and thought it would be fun; got a group of people, went, and we had a great time. Good job to the historical society. The girls who ran it did a great job and I would just say it’s a great event and next year we’d like to see more people come out for it.

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Like a previous caller, also to our wonderful Lombard Post Office, I’ll be glad when they go to five-day mail delivery. At least they’ll leave our mailbox open only one day after delivery. Close the mailbox lids, OK? I also cancelled a weekly magazine delivery because it was delivered two weeks or more later, or never. The grocery store had them quicker than mine came to the house. Home deliveries are supposed to be in the homes before hitting the stores. So many times department store notices are delivered after the sale dates. One time the postal carrier put a note in our mailbox that a car was parked in front of the mailbox so he didn’t deliver the mail, but he left a note. Unbelievable but true. Complaints seem to fall on deaf ears.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Do we or do not have a curfew for children and the loudness of them? When my neighbor’s children are screaming at midnight during the week, and we have to call the police on them? It’s pretty sad. Lombard’s going down further and further.

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Lombard resident wanting to do something about neighborhood dog barking. Although I am basically surrounded by dog owners, there’s one who lets the dog out, I assume for a potty break, and the dog naturally barks when it wants to be let back in; and barks, and barks and barks. The owner is often quite slow for the dog’s re-entry. This is disturbing the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood—at least it is to me. What’s my recourse? Is there a village ordinance that addresses this issue?

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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Hello, this is Lombard calling. Just a word of advice for people out there looking for jobs who’ve been unemployed: There are a lot of jobs available in the computer and IT industry. Americans need to understand that in order to be employed in the future, you need to learn software, hardware and the computer arena. I’m in the software and hardware business and there’s always employment available. We have tons of people who are coming to this country on work visas because they know software and hardware in the computer industry. Just thought I would pass along this advice for current job seekers out there.

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Recently, while traveling west on Maple Street near the library, there was a garbage truck stopped near the front of the library. Another car, going east, waved me around to go, even though that person had the right of way. That was the kind of gesture we need more of, instead of me first, it’s my turn, etc. Thanks to that person and I will do the same for somebody else, whether it be on the street or even in line at a store. Let’s get a chain of kindness started and keep it going. Pay it forward, as they say.

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I couldn’t agree more with the caller who suggested that people who live within the vicinity of the train tracks quit complaining about the constant high decibel horns blowing day and night. Since you made a decision to live near the tracks, you should just deal with whatever erroneous noise a railroad feels they must make to prove they are protecting people. Just like callers who are always complaining about neighbors parking junk cars and boats on their lawns or letting weeds grow knee-high. Hey, you chose to live there, so quit your whining.

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Lombard calling. I love the Constitution, freedom of speech. SPEAK OUT gives us that opportunity. Anonymous and nameless to our comments. Such power we have. So much power that we bought the village board of trustees, village manager and village president to becoming speechless. Just small-town politicians, who can’t take the heat, so they coward out by passing a gag order ordinance. I want people who lead this community with the heart to stand up to the criticism and take it to heart and care about Lombard as much as those who live here. Election day is coming—we need people who care, who call us back, who know that not everything they do will be liked by some. But have the courage to make a difference and not just a name for themselves.

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Hello, Lombard, I’m calling to respond to the person who thinks that George Bush is the worse president who ever existed. Well, let me just say that he may not have been the best president but, let’s see: President Obama, almost three years in office, unemployment is twice the amount of President Bush; he’s spent more money in two-and-a-half years than President Bush did in four; he’s not closed Guantanamo Bay; he’s not created more jobs; the price of oil has skyrocketed; we’re still not only two wars but three. When are you going to believe that what he has done is not right for this country other than drive a wedge between it? I voted for John McCain. I don’t think you got what you bargained for. I don’t think this president has don a thing to help this country.

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There are several things that should be done, that should be mandatory. Number one, whether you’re legal or illegal and in this country, you must sign the statement swearing your allegiance to the United States of America, or leave the country as soon as possible. And the second requirement is, learn to speak English. If you don’t speak English, you don’t belong in this country. And last but not least, I want to remind all you people that freedom is not free. All of us military men paid with the risk of losing our lives to make it a free country, and those who want to come into the country and enjoy our freedom must swear allegiance and speak the English language.

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Villa Park calling. This is a message for politicians. My husband and I were not born with a silver spoon in our mouth; we both started to work at age 16 and paid into Social Security until our retirement. Don’t blame the retirees for part of our country’s deficit. We always pay our taxes. Many large corporations and the wealthy pay no taxes at all due to loopholes in our tax system and sending jobs overseas for their cheap labor. If you want to get our country moving again, close the loopholes and tax companies who end jobs overseas. Also, it is our understanding that the Haliburton employees in Iraq and Afghanistan were paid more than our military service men and women. Is this fair? We the taxpayers pay your salary and all the benefits that you receive. Do your job to correct the above or you’re fired.