I’m very dismayed at the direction the Democratic Party is taking this country. It used to be a fine organization for many years but now, they leave nothing to support for the regular person. If you want to try to be successful, all your money is going to be taken away. You have to support moral values that most people just don’t believe in. It’s really a shame now that I have to go to the other party and vote.

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To the person upset about the park district’s investment in the Glenbard East turf stadium:  The park district partnered with District 87 and the Glenbard Athletic Boosters to fund the new field. In return, residents of Lombard will have use of the stadium via the park district’s portfolio of activities. The park district will be able to expand its programs and save on maintenance of existing fields once the turf stadium is completed. Try to remember that Glenbard East sits in the very heart of our village and any improvements to the high school can have a positive impact our property values. Kudos to the park district and the hundreds of Booster parents that made this happen. Go Rams.

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I have a suggestion for Villa Park. The area along the tracks by North School should be cleaned up. The overgrown vegetation contains temporary “housing,” and is littered with trash, beer cans, liquor bottles and drug paraphernalia. I have found used syringes on two occasions, and it’s common to find canned goods and makeshift beds. Nothing good happens there when the foliage is at its peak. The remains of a fence can also be found, but it serves no purpose in its present condition. I would recommend that the village give this area a makeover resembling the area behind the Iowa Community Center. Get rid of the overgrowth, erect a proper fence and plant a few trees. This will make the area safer, more attractive, won’t cost a ton of money and could be completed in a short amount of time. I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing my tax dollars put to this good use.

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A huge thank you to the Lombard Police Department for their wonderful and comforting response to my family and I during a very difficult time. My husband passed away in our home and the police responded immediately and were very compassionate and helpful. Thank you. From a very thankful Lombard family.

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I’d like to thank the two gentlemen who came to my aid outside Glenbard East High School for the Westlake graduation. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

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Two quick things. One, Zach Wilson said the pension is not from here but what he fails to realize is it comes from the state of Illinois and as taxpayers, we did pay his pension. And, the second thing, I called about the park and the homeless people, and I went back with my grandchild again, and it was a different person sleeping on a park table. Why can’t the park district take care of its mess?

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Hi, this is Lombard calling and I’d like to congratulate Ron Rakosnik on his appointment as fire chief in Villa Park. Recent articles in local papers have mentioned Ron’s extensive training and certifications. His other experience, plus his 27 1/2 years as a firefighter more than qualify him to be a fire chief. How lucky for Villa Park to be getting such a highly qualified chief. And, so quickly after their chief retired last month. How sad for Lombard that our seemingly inept and overpaid village manager did not choose to recognize Ron’s talents right in front of his face. And, how sad that Lombard has an interim chief two years after Seagraves retired. I would imagine that Ron would have liked to have ended his illustrious career as a Lombard fire chief. Unfortunately, village officials in Lombard didn’t see it that way, so Villa Park’s gain is Lombard’s loss big time. Congratulations, Ron. We’ll miss you.

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Though I love how our government thinks we’re all stupid, I cannot believe that the mayor of New York City is banning the Big Gulp or oversized drinks because it’s not healthy. I understand that it may not be healthy, but who are you to say that if I want a Big Gulp that I can’t have one? Wasn’t it the state of California that wanted to ban Happy Meal toys or French fries? Come on, America. It’s not the government’s responsibility to tell us what healthy is—it’s our responsibility and as parents it’s our responsibility to watch what our kids are eating. Why have we become the nanny country? This is unbelievable.

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How ironic that the Illinois state legislators are seemingly spending 24/7 time on restructuring the state’s pension system. However, there is no mention about how they are restructuring their own very generous and costly pension system; the per diem benefit should be eliminated, when many legislators sign in as present and leave to conduct business in their full-time law practice. Sen. Kirk Dillard stated in his campaign literature that he has never voted for a state tax increase during his term of office. He, however will be collecting two state pensions when he retires. Former governor and secretary state Jim Edgar is currently collecting two state pensions. Judy Barr Topinka, currently state comptroller, will also be collecting two pensions when she retires. The list goes on and on and on.

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SPEAK OUT readers, food for thought: Rahm Emanuel says you can’t do things in his city. Does he own the city of Chicago? Is he a king? Is he a dictator?

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So the village hall was talking about possibly putting a satellite office in the old downtown area. Really? This is the same brain trust that brought us the Westin hotel/convention center that was going to solve all our tax issues and is now apparently costing us dearly.

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Hi, Lombard. I want to make a comment about voting for the best candidate. Someone mentioned in the Lombardian that they don’t choose by party, that they vote for the best candidate. Well, I voted for Obama because I thought he was the best candidate, and look what it got us. I cannot believe that we are in this turmoil by a president who was going to change things and was going to make things better. He obviously hasn’t done that. He’s obviously made things worse and you can be sure that I will not vote for someone who does not have some type of working background, some type of management background, some type of political background. I’ll be more cautious when I vote for president this time. It certainly won’t be Obama.

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Hello, Lombard calling. What is up with the so-called repair patch job on Maple, just east of Grace Street? Bang, bang, bang; there go my muffler, my shocks and my kidneys.

Editor’s note: Please check out the photo and cutline, “Construction continues on Main Street,” on Page 2 of this week’s Lombardian. In the cutline, Carl Goldsmith, Lombard’s director of public works, explains that all the water mains were replaced on Maple Street, between Grace and Edgewood, and temporary asphalt patching was installed. This will be replaced with concrete this summer through a grant from the state of Illinois.—blm

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Hi, this is Lombard. Who needs Congress as long as we have a Communist dictator who makes all the decisions? Get rid of Congress. Let’s go with the dictator.

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Is Mueller good or bad for Lombard? I’ve read in SPEAK OUT about his good points and bad, but I don’t know. If he is good for Lombard, vote him in again. If he is bad for Lombard, let’s have a group select a candidate to run against him; not under a party banner though. Maybe the next candidate should be a business man or woman. Can that happen in Lombard? Or are we going to continue to complain and do nothing?

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Hello, Lombardian. Please post the float results from the Lilac Day Parade. Thank you.

Sorry, we did not receive the float results this year, but will check with the Lilac Parade Committee and post the results in an upcoming issue as soon as we have them.—blm

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This is a response to Zach Wilson’s extremely long pat-on-the-back comment he made in the Lombardian. First of all, his comment about making more money if he was privatized, then why didn’t he go privatized? I wonder if Zach Wilson would have fought for his pension if the tables were turned. Any educated persons and many high-up financial gurus agree that you can’t compare private sector to government jobs. The pay study was a joke and cost the taxpayers over $80,000. Zach continues to slam the police department. What do you want, Zach Wilson? To cut the police officers’ salaries in half and let the citizens see what kind of police service they will get? Let’s not talk about the village employees making more than a police officer. Everyone needs to look at the public record and how much some village hall workers make compared to a police officer’s salary. People, wake up and see how our village manager and board of trustees are ruining this town. Please, please, someone run against these people. I know I’ll vote for you.

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To my Democrat friends: As you know, Michael Madigan and the Democrat seven of Illinois are trying to send back the pension reform act bill back to the school district, which would raise our property taxes. For years, teachers have paid into the pension and there’s not a question if they paid in, they deserve it. The question is, If they paid into the state, why is the state shirking its duty? Man, if you vote for another Democrat in this state, you ought to have your head examined.

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Hello. I just got my Lombard Pride. You know the little flier/magazine that comes out from the village telling you everything that they do great. Well, I noticed that they’re going for green electricity with their energy. We weren’t told about that. I am wondering if true, it may be cheaper than their current electric bill, but is it the lowest price they could have gotten? I notice that it’s required to reduce their carbon footprint, which they did not tell us. Did they just use us for their own means? If I can find a cheaper energy source I will opt out of their program. And if you want cleaner energy, and you don’t want to worry about the carbon footprint, why don’t we just use the hot air to power it from our village board?

Editor’s note: Remember, I cannot pose these questions to the village as they no longer answer SPEAK OUT questions, but I can tell you that the village did talk about using renewable energy as they went through the company selection process after the electrical aggregation referendum was approved in March. As for the lowest price, a letter sent to residents this week shows that residents who participate in the aggregation program with FirstEnergy Solutions will receive a rate of 4.64 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), while ComEd’s supply rate is 8 cents per kWh plus .5 cents purchased electricity adjustment (PEA). The letter outlines that this is a 45 percent savings off the ComEd supply rate and that the electricity for the Village of Lombard’s program will be 100 percent renewable.—blm

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SPEAKING OUT FOR 25 YEARS

The following comments are reprinted from the July 28, 2001, SPEAK OUT column in celebration of SPEAK OUT’s 25th year.

Hello from Lombard. I would just like to say to you people complaining about the Taste of Lombard music. If you can’t tolerate it for five nights a year, sell your house, move to Montana and get a log cabin. Thank you. Bye.

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Hi. This is Lombard calling in regard to the lady who wanted to put fountains in Terrace View pond. I think I have a much quicker solution, and that would be to put plankton in the pond and that would eat up the algae. And if the plankton got a little too overpopulated, we could just dump a couple of whales in there. Thanks.

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Hello. I’m calling from Lombard and I was just complimenting the Taste of Lombard. I have lived in this town for three years and this is the first year I went to the Taste of Lombard, and it was just wonderful. We had my family from the city and they cannot wait to go again next year. Thanks again, Lombard. Great job. Bye.

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I think it might be nice if people, when they come to a stop sign, stopped reasonably close to the sign, instead of waiting a full car length in front of it, to enter the traffic. It’s a little scary, sometimes, when they come to the intersection and you don’t think they are going to stop. Thank you.