Hi, Can we move off the subject of teachers and their salaries, pensions, etc.? It’s obvious no one is ever going to agree and you people just keep throwing out numbers from all over the map to make your case. I agree they make good money but it’s not the salary that bothers me the most; it’s the pension system. I mean, if it took a teacher so many years to earn that $100,000, but in private business it was one promotion away, then who would begrudge a teacher earning that kind of money after 25 years? But it’s not just the teachers who are part of this government employment debacle that costs us taxpayers. They just happen to be the most visible. Can we move on to, say clerical workers, police dispatchers or some other target? That was sarcastic, by the way.

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This is response to the person who called and said Barack Obama has created zero jobs in three years. If this is the logic that you’re using, Barack Obama deserves another four years being president. Why? Because in George Bush’s last month being president, over 750,000 people lost their jobs that month. That's three-quarters of a million people who now are working because of Obama. And it wasn’t just George Bush’s last month. Look at his last six months—we were headed toward a Great Depression. We did not go into a Great Depression. Barack Obama deserves some credit for that.

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Regardless of how you feel about Ray Byrne and David Hulseberg personally, they are among the best at what they do in the Chicago area. Glen Ellyn has had nothing but problems on their staff. One only need look at the laughable situation with COD to see a good example of weak leadership from the staff. Villa Park has a myriad of issues and failures with their staff as well. They have had the Ardmore bridge closed for years now because their staff can’t figure out a way to get funding to re-open it. Times are tough and people want someone to blame for their economic problems, but they need to look at Washington, D.C., and Springfield for they want changed. Ray Byrne and David Hulseberg are among the finest at what they do. Lombard is very fortunate to have them leading our village.

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I disagree with the caller who blamed Cruise Nights for the demise of Bona Pizza. I remember this summer alone going in for a slice or two and sitting on the bench outside, enjoying my food and people-watching. I can recall seeing people come and go in the parking spots in front of Bona—going in to pick up their order—and they weren’t cruise cars, so your statement doesn’t hold water. I am so tired of Cruise Nights being blamed for the ills of the downtown during the summers. I have always frequented establishments there on Cruise Nights to buy food and refreshments and have seen others do so as well. Blame the village planners and yes, the economy, on people not frequenting the downtown. Or are you a business owner there who is crying sour grapes because you don’t like Cruise Nights?

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This is Lombard calling and after the very first bad snowfall I’m just shocked and I have to wonder where my tax dollars are going when I see these roads as slippery and slick with snow as they are. Somebody please let us all know because I’m sure every Lombardian is wondering why they are almost having accidents right on the main roads where they drive their children to school and go to work.

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Thursday morning, afternoon, early, it’s snowing, roughly 6 inches of snow and already schools are closing for Friday because of 6 inches of snow? They’re closing schools? Really. What a waste of taxpayers’ money. People today are way too pampered.

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This comment is for the person who called SPEAK OUT to defend the teachers and stated that teachers don’t make more money than private-sector workers, even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that teachers earn double what private-sector workers earn. That person stated, “If anyone really think that teachers make more than the average worker, go to a parking lot at any high school and look at the cars.” Well, that’s a nice thought, but the problem is if you drive past Willowbrook at 6 o’clock, like I do every evening, you won’t see any cars. You also won’t see any cars on the weekends, or two weeks over Christmas, or a week in the spring, or on any holiday, or if it snows a few inches or all summer long. Most people I know who earn $100,000 a year are still working at 6 o’clock, they work Saturdays, they have to go to work when it snows and they work in June, July and August. Anyway, nice try.

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President Obama made a formal request on Jan. 12 to raise the debt ceiling $1.2 trillion. The amount we gave him a couple of months ago wasn’t enough. He’s got to have more money, is what he’s saying, and in fact in the letter he wrote Congress, requesting it; that he made prior commitments and needs another $1.2 trillion that would take the current debt ceiling from its current amount $15.2 trillion to a new debt ceiling of $16.4 trillion. And you really want to re-elect this guy? This is unbelievable. Vote him out.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling regarding the cars that park up front outside the dry cleaners. I have to say that is pretty rude. I mean, unless you are severely handicapped or have a big load to carry—and I haven’t seen anybody like that—you’re making it so people can’t get in and out properly. That’s why they have the spots. Walking 10 feet isn’t going to hurt; walking can do a body good.

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I was calling about the teachers crying that they’re overworked and underpaid when the truth, in my opinion, is this: They’re actually underworked and overpaid. Here’s why. If you became a teacher to be rich, you chose the wrong profession. My wife’s a teacher; my mother was a teacher. They became teachers to help students and help children, and basically to help America. They didn’t do it for the money; so if you’re a teacher and you’re crying that you don’t make enough money, you’ve got the wrong job, sorry. Go find a different job.

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Two observations. Can you please quit showing Christmas commercials, anything to do with Santa Claus, all these weeks after Christmas? And can people please take down their Christmas decorations? Please.

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I’d like to thank the Good Samaritan in the black pickup who helped a woman and two girls with the car that seemed to run out of gas 20 feet from the gas pump. May you be blessed tenfold for using your strength and time to help others.

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Lombard calling. I’m just wondering, does anybody know if it’s illegal to leave your car parked and running with the keys in it, like they do outside the post office or the day care centers in the winter, or even in the summer? It would seem to me that it would be a tempting situation for a young kid. I’m wondering if it’s illegal.

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The Lombard police chief states there are no costs and no savings to the two extra days off he gives the lieutenants. If that is true, why did he take them away from the sergeants? He is short four officers and yet has no problem giving extra days off to the officers who are still working there. Let’s give everybody in the village all the paid days off they want; no cost, no savings, we are paying them anyway.

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The people of Villa Park have a right to know why John Heidelmeier is no longer the village’s police chief. During Monday’s meeting, his lawyer and wife said he had done nothing wrong. A few hours later, Heidelmeier and the village agreed that he would leave his position, and no one would discuss the matter. Heidelmeier, the village manager and the village board shouldn’t hide behind some agreement. What’s going on?

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Lombard, believe your officials. They won’t sell you the Brooklyn Bridge, but they will build one. It will be called the Hulseberg Bridge to Nowhere. Keep in mind the interest rates just went up due to Lombard’s drop in credit ratings. No problem; let’s raise the tax or add more fees.

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Hello, Trustee Zach Wilson. Thank you for supporting the police chief in Villa Park. You must have gotten lost on your way from Lombard to the county board. OK, time for a recall.

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Hello, the way Lombard is being managed is an embarrassment to the community and its citizens. To make bad investments with the taxpayers’ money is bad enough, but to not own up to obligations such as the Westin Hotel and still have money to build a multimillion-dollar bridge to nowhere, doesn’t make us have any character at all. Our trustees need to make the necessary changes now.

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Hello, this is a concerned citizen of Villa Park and I read in the paper about Heidelmeier being out as Villa Park’s chief of police. I just don’t understand after reading the story. I don’t know why he is out; it doesn’t say anything about why he is out. When I called they said it’s a privacy act; there’s nothing in the article about a settlement or what he did. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. I think we should know as concerned citizens of Villa Park, why our chief of police is out, what the settlement was and what he did.

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The caller who stated that Bona pizza closed because of Cruise Nights is ignorant. Cruise Nights has been around for more than 10 years. So according to the caller Bona has been losing more than 60 percent of its business for that long and still stayed in business? Sorry to see them go, but you can’t blame Cruise Nights.

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I would like to thank the Lombardian and the SPEAK OUT column for enabling people to come out of the woodwork, so to speak. Everyone today is busy with their day-to-day struggles, to do their job and try to maintain their family duties, if they have one. We don’t have time to sit right down and write a letter because we have a full-time job just to make ends meet. SPEAK OUT provides the means to share ideas and attitudes to make life better. It seems that most of the rest of the story in the news you get, like the Lombard Pride, is the village manager and crew putting their spin on what you read. I dare you to ask your neighbor, “What’s new? What’s really happening?” Thank you.