This is Villa Park. In response to the party citing Cook County politics—the Heidelmeier meeting at Villa Nova was indeed a fundraiser to help with campaign fees. This is customary regardless of what county you are in. If you had come, you would have found out that donations were optional. Over 250 people attended. Good food, good conversations, good opinions and a good but very brief speech thanking you for attending. Heidelmeier did give us an overview of his handling village dealings. He said that three questions would apply to every proposal presented. (1) Does it enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Villa Park? (2) Does it benefit our local business? (3) Can we afford it? Sounds like a thought-out plan. If the man stands behind the things he says, he could really be a good leader of our local government. So next time you hear of a meeting, attend. Ask questions, get answers, get opinions. Then send an item to SPEAK OUT on something you have experienced.

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To the citizen’s concern about Christmas lights still being up after three weeks: Are you referring to people's homes or decorations on the street's light poles? If it is decorations on people's homes, I will give you a small Bible history lesson. It is common for people in the U.S. and around the world to keep their lights up and active until Epiphany which falls on January 6th. So now if we count how many days it has been since Epiphany, that would be 10.  Now, if you still have concerns over why decorations at houses are still up after 10 days, I would like to know why do you care about what people have up on their property? It is not causing a disturbance and no one is forcing you to look at what someone has on their property. If you still feel the need to complain about people having their Christmas lights up, I will gladly go on the Internet, order myself a USSR flag, raise it on my front lawn, and see how you would react to that.

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I’m appalled at the caller who advocated shooting skeet as a means of culling them. There are no kill shelters that take in unwanted skeet, or rescue societies that will find good homes for them. I have adopted several of them, and they make wonderful companions, with very low maintenance. You save our skeet.

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To the person who called in and wanted to find out from Acting President Peter Breen how much money was spent on the little party for the Notre Dame game, you know what, if one penny of my money was spent on it, it is a waste. This town’s a joke. It’s like the rest of Illinois. I look at these trustees, and I just shake my head. It’s a silly little town, and you are silly little people siting up there thinking that you’re such big shots, wasting our money. The bridge to nowhere, the football game. You know what, it ain’t going to change. When you see those silly little people up there, that’s who’s going to be in charge for awhile. This is just a microcosm of the rest of Illinois. Tax and spend, waste the money. I’m so important. I’m so smart. I’m a Lombard trustee. Do what I’m going to do, folks. Time to get out of this town. Time to get out of this state.

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I just had to respond to the person who thought that they should vote for Heidelmeier, the ex-chief of police in Villa Park who’s running for village president. There are plenty of police officers and civilians still at the police department who worked with Heidelmeier his entire career. Many don’t think he should have ever been the chief of police, and felt his removal was the right thing to do. They don’t come forward because they don’t play politics, and they’re concerned about their own careers, too.

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This is Villa Park calling. I just read the Villa Park Review on Jan. 16, about the streets in Villa Park. Do we need those two in our government this year? We don’t need streets, according to those two. Guess what, we need streets, we don’t need a dog park.

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Lombard calling. Two things. It seems to me Ken Loch has been a very good neighbor and a very good citizen for all these years, as far back as I can remember. Now they want to retire. They have a very substantial investment. The neighbors don’t want them to sell it. They want them to leave it as open space. Come on. You guys want open space? Get together, get a special taxing district going for your area, and buy it, or get the park district to buy it and run the golf course. It’s obviously profitable. There are other golf courses that are profitable. Number two, thank you very much to the Village of Lombard for working out the electrical consolidation program for everybody in town. How about now, maybe working on gas? I understand gas can be consolidated the same way. I think it should be done on a village-wide basis.

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Hello, you Obama supporters. Are you enjoying your new insurance, the deductible and how much it costs? Also, how is that new raise you got from Obama? How does it feel to be part of a group that destroyed the country? I hope you’re feeling really good. Thank you. I hope you enjoy your new America.

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May I remind the people that in Nazi Germany the government came in the middle of the night, while people were sleeping, and people disappeared. It was a covert action. There were news blackouts by the government and the press. People didn’t really realize right away how many people went missing. They were quietly disarming the people, and taking would-be leaders away from the people that would be working against them. Think it’s far-fetched? This administration is making your doctor and mine an agent of the federal government. It’s breaking all our traditions and our Constitution.

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Hi, I wanted to send a message regarding the purpose of Bullwinkel even running for village president in the upcoming Villa Park election. I’m concerned because she hasn’t done anything as a trustee, and now she’s wanting to be president. I’m just concerned how she thinks she’s going to fulfill this potential obligation.

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That was a great little puff piece in the Lombardian on Sen. Kirk Dillard. However, it failed to mention his role in creating the state’s current pension crisis. He spent a generation in Springfield, underfunding the various funds. If there is any justice, the funds will go bankrupt before he collects a penny.

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Hi, from Villa Park. The last few issues of the Villa Park Review had negative comments from residents about John Heidelmeier. Do many residents not recall that Mr. Heidelmeier was “told” by the village board that he could not publicly reveal the circumstances of his dismissal and settlement made with the current board? The board went into “executive session” to make its decision. So, what is the village board hiding? Maybe it is time for someone who actually knows how the village works and what it needs to hold the office of village president.

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Hello Lombard. It is absolutely disgusting what is going on with those mass murders. The simple-minded “let’s control guns and punish law-abiding citizens that want to defend themselves.” Chicago’s done real well with their gun control. And punishing me, for somebody else. Let’s blame the person who wants to protect themselves. Let’s punish them. As usual, it’s a liberal, simple-minded kneejerk reaction, and anybody who blames the NRA is a fool. They support law-abiding citizens.

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Lombard calling, about Ken Loch Golf Course. People who do not play golf very well would like to play there. It’s not like a big professional course. The people who are coming in there trying to buy the property should sell it to another golf course, not to a developer.

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To all the supporters of the Second Amendment. Keep in mind what they just did in New York by banning 10-round magazines and anything above that. They banned a whole class of weapons because 9mm pistols use 16-round magazines. Now you can’t use it until you get a new seven-round magazine. Since gun manufacturers have to retool to make those magazines, it’s going to be impossible to get them. Hence, your pistol is now pretty much unusable. Support the NRA. Thank you.

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I see more and more of these big green dots painted on trees in the parks. What’s going on with that? Are these trees that they’re going to be cutting down? Are those ash trees that are infected? What’s the big mystery? Thank you.

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Do you know what happened when Washington, D.C., banned residents from owning guns in the 1970s? Violent crime increased because criminals knew that law-abiding residents were unarmed and unable to defend themselves. This has been pointed out before, but Chicago has strict gun laws that seem to have done nothing to stop violent shootings.

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Could someone tell the person holding the anti-gun sign on Main Street that we the people have the right to bear arms. When the economy collapses or a natural disaster hits, he could stand there with his sign in one hand and his hope and change in the other, waiting for the government to show up. Don’t ask me, ask New York or New Jersey.

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Thank you, Village of Lombard, for making me get up and go answer the phone, only to hear a recorded message telling me that it’s cold outside. I never signed up for these alerts because I didn’t want to be bothered by these ridiculous calls. So I called the village to complain, but they didn’t answer, and I remembered that it’s Martin Luther King Day, which is another one of the holidays that you get if you work for the government, but not if you have a real job.

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Lombard calling. Well, here we are, at the end of another year. It’s a great time to compare what you spent in 2012 to what you spent in 2011. Let’s see, electric, spent a little less. Gas, a little less, about the same. Water, hey, I spent 57 percent more paying my water bill. I must have been drinking too much water or taking too many showers. Not only that, just before I made this call, I get a call from somebody identified as Code Red, and, who is it, it’s the village, calling me to tell me that it’s cold outside. Thank God for them. I wonder what that cost.

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The Village of Lombard has too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The village manager can find $120,000 for another manager to run this town, but the fire chief doesn’t have enough funds to complete his team. If there is a fire to put out, I think the firemen do a better job putting out fires than the village manager. Where are the priorities of the leaders we voted for? Thank you.

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Villa Park here. With all the discussion in 2012 about the quality of the streets in Villa Park, at the Jan. 14 board meeting, Trustees Bullwinkel, Taglia and Bulthuis voted against putting a road referendum on the April 9 ballot. That makes me wonder if they would have voted the same way if this were not an election year. It makes me wonder if they have the best interests of Villa Park in mind. Most importantly, it makes me wonder why they would not put it on the ballot and let the people decide. Thank you.

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Villa Park calling. So now we have a lawsuit on our hands. Those named—Manager Keehner, Deputy Police Chief Budig and trustees Taglia and Davis—are accused of conspiracy and violation of civil rights. At least the voters know about it before the election.

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This is in response to those who would like our Christmas decorations taken down because it’s three weeks after Christmas. As Catholics, Christmas ended last weekend with the baptism of our Lord. So we keep our Christmas decorations up because the Christmas season started with Christmas, and we go for a few weeks afterwards. Thank you.

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Hi, I’m calling about all the squirrels and geese that seem to be taking over the whole town of Lombard. I feel like they’re all moving in here, but they don’t want to pay the high taxes, so they’re going to just end up moving to Villa Park. Thank you.

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I just got my ComEd bill. My municipal tax is $7.86. Also, what I’m calling for, is the franchise cost. Is the franchise cost being passed on to us? If it is, why do I pay a municipal tax if I am also paying a franchise fee? I really don’t understand that. I think our state is just terrible when it comes to taxes and hidden charges. I would ask everyone to look at the tax structure we have as Illinoisians and Lombardians.

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This is a Village of Lombard Code Red severe cold weather alert. According to the National Weather Service, Lombard is experiencing the coldest weather of the season. Sub-zero temperatures are likely to remain throughout the week. Currently a wind-chill advisory is in effect this evening through Tuesday morning. Residents are encouraged to take precautions when traveling outside their homes.