Another search done for a village department head that ends in worse shape than where it started. They should have hired a consultant first, like everything else they do. The next search the village board does should be for a village manager.

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I have noticed one thing about drivers in Lombard: No matter which main artery I drive on, Main, Finley, etc. where there are side streets and the other drivers have to stop, they seem to frequently nose out into the street so that I have to swerve into the inner lane or oncoming lane because I don’t know what that driver is going to do. Also, those same drivers often begin to pull out into traffic almost before I have passed, again making me reflexively swerve to avoid a collision. What’s going on here? Come on, people, stay where you belong until it is safe to inch forward. Some of you were talking on the phone and not paying attention.

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If you’re reading this the election is now over. I hope that all of these candidates have ensured all of the campaign signs are removed. I suppose it helps the local economy, but I do not believe signs win elections.

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Illinois has the nation’s 13th largest state economy, but rates 42nd in state spending. We have the smallest number of state employees per capita in the entire nation. Last December the general assembly  convened a special session to pass more than $300 million in tax giveaways to big corporations and the super rich, and now they are trying to close “for lack of funding” two state homes for the developmentally disabled, and two psychiatric hospitals.

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To the ignorant Lombardian talking down to the firemen instead of the village decision-makers regarding charging for 9-1-1 calls. Yes, they sit outside the fire station after 5 p.m. because they work 24- hour shifts. I’m pretty sure these courageous men and women who risk their lives for people they don’t even know every day are entitled to sit and relax after 5 p.m. if there aren’t any calls. Just like I’m sure you probably sit in front of your television set when you get home. Stop being ignorant and educate yourself before you make such rash assumptions. 

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For all you callers to SPEAK OUT who use facts and figures, here’s an idea that might help your credibility. If you are spouting off information to make a point, how about mentioning where it came from? I, for one, won’t assume your facts are accurate just because you stated them. What’s the source of your information? Then others can check it out, too. Thank you.

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To the person who called in and said that the other caller’s child would learn more from the science fair than a parade; so your logic is that since the kids don’t live in Chicago, they shouldn’t march in a parade there? Concentrate on the science fair instead of marching in a parade? I couldn’t believe my eyes. What about their pride in being a Girl Scout? If there is conflict about making a choice between the science fair and marching as a Girl Scout, that tells me these are probably well-rounded girls. And that last part of the comment asking if the parents are preparing their kids to be Occupy protesters, that was not only snarky, but disingenuous to assume that marching in a parade will lead to becoming a radical. Just call me a former marching band geek and upstanding citizen.

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I want to urge the citizens of Lombard and Villa Park to report loose dogs to your police department. If you are walking your dog and come upon a loose dog please call the police. At the south end of Villa Park we have been having problems with owners keeping their dogs unleashed. What people do not realize is this is usually not a one time occurrence. The same dogs are usually chronically running around without their owners. Let’s protect all the citizens as well as the dogs. Hopefully with enough calls to the police, law enforcement will take drastic action against these negligent dog owners.

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How can the new school board president of District 87 and other board members justify the monthly decrease in instructional time for the high school students because of the early dismissal schedule?

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Lombard calling. This is for the teacher bashers. Remember, your attitude is picked up by your child. It would be better to stand behind his teachers and teach him to respect the school and the teachers. In turn, he will have a more rewarding learning experience. It’s a cooperative effort. Thank you.

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On a Friday afternoon at roughly 2:15, I was heading west on St. Charles Road at the light at Elizabeth. The light had just gone from red to green and went back to red again. I was trying to figure out why. It’s because the guard rails went down at the railroad crossing. So now the railroad has a shot at changing the lights in all directions when the gates go down? Please, give me a break. I had to sit there and wait another couple of minutes before it turned to green, all because a stupid freight train was going by. And, I wasn’t even going down Elizabeth. I was heading west on St. Charles.

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Lombard calling. I know that David Hulseberg, the village manager, won’t allow you to answer this question, but I’m sitting here for the third day in a row with my street lights on, in fact in my whole neighborhood of the downtown Lombard area, the old downtown. They have not been off for three straight days. How much money does this cost us? I’ve lived in this town since 1978, and I’ll be honest with you, folks. In the last 10 years this is a common theme. I’ve given up calling the village because the lights just stay on. These people really do not know how to manage a town. For the life of me, I can’t imagine what it actually costs to leave these street lights on for three days in a row without being turned off. Just so that everybody is clear on it; it is 76-77 out and sunny. I guess some people might interpret that you need a light on but I’m not so sure about that. Thanks.

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Villa Park calling. How great that the Cubs theme song is played by some graduates of Willowbrook High School, residents of Villa Park. Way to go.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling to say how disappointed I am with the park district that they have become politically correct with such classes as Lunch with Mr. Bunny and the Egg Eggstravaganza. None of the programs they offered mentioned the word “Easter.” Obviously they’re for Easter or otherwise they’d be held in September. This is the same park district that holds a burlesque pole exercising class. Thank you.

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Lombard. I would like to know, when did change you can believe in become chump change? The American people are the chumps. Thank you.

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I just read in SPEAK OUT where the person said why should everything be printed in English and Spanish with regard to the politicians, profiles and voting. If a person cannot speak English how does he know what the politician stands for because obviously he can’t understand English. Thank you very much.

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I’m calling about the person who was in SPEAK OUT on March 14, upset about her children having to move from Manor Hill School to Butterfield because of the boundary changes. I would just like to say that if she’s so upset, maybe she should send her children to private school. Last time I checked, public school is a free education. Yes, we pay high taxes in Lombard but we have excellent schools. So, unless she’d like to pay for a private school, maybe she should just deal with it.

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Hi, I’m a Montini parent. I’d like to congratulate the Montini Broncettes on their third consecutive state championship. Good luck next year, Broncos.

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Gee, it’s almost 5:30 p.m. and I’m trying to watch the local news, when every local channel March 14 seemed more enamored about the former governor going to jail and the distractions and the stress on his kids. There must be nothing else going on this entire world news-wise, sports-wise, weather-wise, than our former governor going to jail. Oh my gosh, the world’s going to end. The media cares more about our former governor being sent to jail than anything else going on in this entire city, state or country. Pathetic. We have fallen so far, absolutely so far.

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We received a campaign call asking us to vote for a certain candidate, and if not, why not. Our answer is that we need a president who will stand up like Ronald Reagan and put the fear of God in our enemies. For too long we have had our soldiers killed, murdered by our so-called friends, and we have a president who quickly apologizes for our country. We need a strong president, not a Democrat weakling.

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The preferential treatment given to the historical society in the form of TIF money and a six-year, six-figure interest-free loan is questionable. Is it legal since the historical society has no status as a business and does not pay property tax? For those of us who fought to restore the DuPage Theatre, the aforementioned actions seem ludicrous. Why haven’t we heard from all the staunch supporters of restoring the DuPage Theatre at all the meetings we had with the village president and trustees, some of whom supported the restoration? The silence is deafening.

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Hi, I’m calling regarding the children at Manor Hill being transferred to the other school. I support that they stay at Manor Hill, if you can grandfather them in and hopefully find two classrooms to get them in. It’s probably a stable environment for them that they finish the rest of their school years all at Manor Hill.

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Before you start calling the Democratic Party Nazis because of a teacher going into a child’s lunch bag, there are more issues that are quite more important to think about. Do you want to go back to the 1950s as the Republicans seem to want women to do and have no birth control and no control over anything? Santorum says women do not belong in the military because of emotions that it would upset the men, you want them to go back under the same kind of rules that we lived with in the 1950s when we had to fight for everything we have, and all four Republican candidates want to take everything away from women and put us back in the kitchen with aprons? I think the Democrats don’t want to do that, and as far as going into the child’s lunch bag, that was not acceptable either, but I hardly think anyone should refer to any party as Nazis. That is just ludicrous.

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Lombard calling. While Scott Walker is going to be recalled in Wisconsin, the Democrats and all their friends in the government and all the protected jobs with big benefits are running around getting signatures and the courts refuse to verify the signatures. Kind of like when Clinton-Gore got all those signatures from people who were dead. Remember all those Chicago Democrats, Chicago politics? Well, that’s where it all started; not so much Republicans. This guy’s saved the state a lot of money. They had a deficit in numerous zeros. I believe it was in the billions. He’s turned things around. All the liberal legislators ran to Illinois because they can’t face the music like most liberals. Now they’re getting unsubstantiated signatures. What a bunch of people.