This is for the comrade who provided some numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding state employees. First of all, those aren’t readily available on the bureau’s main site (bls.gov). Kindly provide the actual link. Also, exactly how many state employees are there in Illinois? Can you give an actual number? Your figures have been parroted from another site which mentions, as you don’t, the figure of state workers in Illinois excludes employees of schools and higher education. Those are public employees, paid with taxpayer dollars. Also, you chide someone else about misdirecting by mixing apples with oranges. You do this right after comparing Illinois to Alaska. The population of Illinois as of 2011 was more than 12.8 million, while the population of Alaska was about 720,000. There are more people living in DuPage County (about 920,000) than in all of Alaska. Talk of mixing apples with oranges.

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Regarding the article in the Daily Herald about Lombard employees having their pay frozen for three years, I’m curious to see how much that cost the taxpayers of Lombard to have that study done, and how can you compare public jobs to private jobs. Just curious as to how they came up with those figures and how they justify spending that kind of money. I’d like to know how much money they spent on it. Thank you.

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Hi, guys. Just keep voting Democrat. I just got my tax bill and my property taxes went up 4 1/2 percent plus the 2 percent the governor increased. All the schools are taking more money. Just keep voting Democrat. Pretty soon we’re all going to be living in public housing because nobody can afford to own a home. Looking forward to that.

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Hello, this is Lombard. I am so very disappointed with District 44’s last newsletter we received in the mail. How could they segregate the African American population like that in public? Being African American, I was so very, very insulted and embarrassed. My husband and I both have a college education and our children who are in middle school at Glenn Westlake are A/B students. How dare you in public humiliate our children as you did. Where is our apology?

Lombard Elementary School District 44 Superintendent James Blanche explained that the information presented in the newsletter specifically refers to the district’s Goal 2, which is “Academic Achievement for Black Students.” The superintendent cited that statistically, the black students have “historically scored lower than other subgroups,” adding that with 7 percent of the student population among the District 44 schools being black, “As a group they’re not doing well.” Blanche said that the district is bringing in a school superintendent and an administrator from the Regional Office of Education–both black—“to help us frame the problem.” He emphasized that “The intent [of the report] is not to humiliate our kids,” but rather to put the information out there that the district is looking for ways to meet Goal 2. “You’re going to address it, not ignore it,” Blanche said, adding that the outside administrators “both applaud District 44 for being open and transparent about this as a need.” The superintendent said the district is looking to start a group for the parents of black students “to meet and develop strategies on what we can do to change the situation,” and encourages you—and other concerned parents—to contact him through the district office at 630-827-4400. “We have an obligation to make sure all of our students achieve,” Blanche concluded.—JAC

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I love this idea with the new speed cameras in the construction zones. They’re going to take a picture of the driver, the front of the car and the back of the car. I’m thinking that with that many pictures, maybe the camera shots will also show whether people are actually working in those construction zones. Thank you.

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I could just tell you I think it’s a disgrace, whoever ran that arts and crafts fair, that they would bring in outside food vendors when you have all kinds of restaurants in downtown Lombard; coffee shops, ice cream, that sell everything you can think of, and they bring in outside trucks in to sell food. They’re not here all year long; the restaurants stick it out and every time it’s busy, they bring outside people in. It’s terrible. They should let the outside vendors bring toilets, too, so the people have a toilet to use, and napkins and chairs to sit on. We supply all of that so they can buy the food from the outside vendors.

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I agree with the caller who said we have a serious problem in this country, but I differ as to what that problem is. The problem is an electorate that doesn’t understand the real issues our country faces. How do we stop the flow of jobs to foreign countries? How can we best combat terrorism here and abroad? When do we begin to demand that our lawmakers stop posturing and begin to work together to reduce our national debt? What does it matter that Mitt Romney is ”a decent guy, a family man” who is “putting his life on the line?” President Obama is also a decent family man whose life is even more on the line than is Romney’s. Obama is also trying hard to bring about change—but a change that would be more beneficial to the middle-class Americans. Is that fact the basis of the caller’s unsubstantiated claim of corruption? Ridiculous. So If Romney wants to use his considerable wealth pursuing his fantasy, what does that make him? Perhaps just another wild and crazy gambler?

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All these events where Lombard groups go outside of town for their meetings, wine tastings luncheons, etc. What does that say about our village cohesion? Now I see the garden club is having their get-together at College of DuPage. No place to hold a luncheon in Lombard? Come on, Lombard organizations, we need to support our local businesses.

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Out of 30 police reports I was reading in the paper, 22 were drugs, drunk driving, no headlights, no insurance, wrong side of the road, no driver’s license, and they get charged and released to go home, get another car and do it again. We law-abiding citizens who don’t drink, have a license and insurance, would like these repeated offenders off the roads that we use and pay for. Bring back the smokers; it’s safer. Maybe Durbin and Quinn could address this instead of having people walk in front of cars, instead of the old stop, look and listen, which worked real well. Thank you.

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We just got our tax bill from DuPage County, and guess what? You hear the teachers are not getting enough money, they’re overworked and underpaid? Take a look at your tax bill. Grade School District 45, High School District 88, College of DuPage District 502. Look at how much they’re getting for their pension fund. Now tell me they don’t get enough money. Look at all the other pension funds—way, way under. Yet we’re talking about a union. I just want to hear how the union teachers are going to put a spin on this; how they work harder than everybody else and how much less money they make. Remember this: Anybody who thinks they make too much money, you must be a union member and a teacher.

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This is to all the kindhearted people in Lombard and Villa Park. At Schroeder’s Ace Hardware in the months of May and June, there is a bin inside the store collecting needed supplies for the baby wildlife at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. There’s a list of supplies that are needed and they will be brought to Willowbrook Wildlife Center every Friday. All donations to help the orphaned, the sick and the injured wildlife are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

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To laughing out loud in Villa Park. My dad also taught me a few things about respect, just like yours did. My dad taught me that respect is something that you earn and something to be valued. You don’t hand it out like candy on Halloween. My dad also taught me to respect the office of the president of the United States, but respecting the office of the presidency and respecting the person who occupies that office are two different things. A person’s position in life does not automatically command them respect from others. Again, it is something that needs to be earned and people should be careful how they dish out respect to other people.

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Hello, Lombard. First, we have the Lombard Town Centre not patronizing our liquor store for their fundraiser, and now we have the park district who’s doing their Lilac Beer and Wine Tasting, also going to Malloy’s in Glen Ellyn. Maybe everybody should just move to Glen Ellyn if they’re not happy with the businesses here in Lombard. Thank you.

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As everybody else, I received my property taxes, almost $7,000. When I first moved in it was $900. I’m looking it over and the grade school district is almost $3,200, District 44, and the pension is almost $95. The high school is $1,850; the pension fund is $44. I go to the Village of Lombard, great job. It’s only $246 but the pension fund that I’m paying for the Village of Lombard is $274. Every other pension fund is just a fraction of the actual services I’m paying. There is something wrong when the pension fund I’m paying to the Village of Lombard is higher than the taxes I’m paying to the Village of Lombard. What’s going on? Something stinks in Lombard.

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SPEAKING OUT FOR 25 YEARS

The following comments are reprinted from the May 16, 1990 SPEAK OUT column in celebration of SPEAK OUT’s 25th year.

This is just a message to Don Evans and the other bleeding heart, diehard Cubs fans. Sox win, Sox win, Sox win, as usual. Bye.

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This is to all the whiners in Lombard. I’ve been putting out garbage on Tuesday nights in Villa Park for 20 years. Family of seven plus a dog. No big deal. No rodents. No problems. Figure it out, folks. Thank you.

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I have just been on errands in Lombard. I can’t believe that they have every street torn up in this town. Why do they have to have all the main thoroughfares torn up at once? I tried to come across the railroad tracks on St. Charles Road and Grace. You can’t get through there. I got stuck by a freight train. I live on North Grace. They had north Grace cut off. I had to go all the way to Main Street and come all the way back. Not to mention the viaduct, plus Park Avenue, the next street. This is stupid. Everything is tied up in this town. So don’t ask me about closing another street.

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My neighbor and I would like to thank the nice young gentleman who stopped his car to help us take down a branch hanging over the street. Who said chivalry is dead? He was great. Many thanks to you, young man.

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If and when Lombard gets Lake Michigan water piped in, they should at least mix it with the current well water, perhaps a 50/50 mix. Perhaps not at all until our wells go pretty dry. I think we should not even use that Lake Michigan water. It should only be used as a backup. If we get a little bit short of water because of a drought, then we could use it.