This goes out to all of the wonderful, kind, thoughtful, caring neighbors in Lombard who think they have the right to litter our beautiful town. I don’t know how they can sleep at night knowing what they have done. My main concern is the parks where our children play. I had my grandkids at the park by the log cabin a few weeks ago and the litter was disgusting. I also noticed all the adults who had kids at the park the same day made no effort to pick up any of the litter. They didn’t throw it there so they don’t have to pick it up, right? They are as guilty as the people who litter. I can’t believe they want their kids playing in a garbage dump.

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My family wishes to thank Lombard Police Officer Gouty for a job well done. It is you who the Lombard Police Department should recognize as a standard by which all officers’ performance should be judged. Your tactfulness, dedication, honesty and forcefulness were appreciated.

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To correct the information that was left by a caller in the July 23 issue regarding the rooftop owners and Wrigley Field, there is a legal contract between the Chicago Cubs and the rooftop owners whereby the owners pay a certain percentage of their gross income to the Cubs, so the rooftop folks are not getting to see the Cubs for free. The big stink between the two entities is the legal contract the Cubs apparently are trying to break, so that’s the real issue. Thank you. Goodbye.

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This is a comment to the person who left the comment about people braking at the crosswalk for bikers. You’re following too close, caller. You need to slow down. You need to back off. And, we can fix that problem with a four-way stop sign, so this way you stop whether there is a biker or not and and will avoid you possibly killing anybody who’s on a bike. Thank you.

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I, for one, very much enjoyed the fireworks that we had this year. And, to the man or woman who compared them to Navy Pier, really? Chicago’s a large town. Lombard did a wonderful job and actually, next time, go to Navy Pier with the other million people and whatever happens, because they’re not just shooting fireworks in the air. If you’re comfortable there, go for it. This must be the same person who thinks Obama’s a terrorist and all Democrats are for trotting around with guns. Really, people? Are you really that un-American that you think if you’re a Democrat or for Obama, you’re against something? I’ve never read so much about so many unhappy people. You know what? Lombard’s a lovely town, and if you’re that hate-filled and think that way, then move somewhere else—like who knows where, because nothing’s perfect and everybody’s different and you obviously just see things your way. Your way or the highway. Thank you.

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The Investorsbusinessdaily.com reported on July 22 that Obama quietly issued a little-known executive order to establish a Periodic Review Board so he could release Al Qaeda terrorists. Excuse? that’s because they took up yoga, they wanted to go home and they wanted to be milk and honey farmers. Are you kidding me? What’s next? Impeach Obama now.

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Whoever had the idea to put the patterned walkways in an area mall obviously doesn’t wear bifocals. The patterns are truly awful. It really throws you off.

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This is Lombard calling. I went to the Taste of Lombard, saw one band, VVX, heavy metal, and they were very good. A suggestion. Cut the fest to three days, raise the admission a little bit and book better bands. Bye.

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I saw in SPEAK OUT two weeks ago someone called in stating something about no American flags being on Main Street to honor the people who died in war for July 4. I’m not a historian but July 4 is the anniversary of us breaking away from England. I believe Memorial Day and Veterans Day are the holidays where you honor people who died in war. I could be wrong; somebody correct me, but somebody needs to get their history straight.

You are mistaken. The person specifically said it is “a slam to those who have served our country.” The American Veterans Center sums up the holiday very well with a collection of essays from fifth-graders, one of whom wrote, “On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence declared the American colonies free from Great Britain but it also means our brave soldiers who keep our country safe so America can continue that very freedom that started 237 years ago. That’s why we celebrate America.” (www.americanveteranscenter.org).—JAC

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In a recent SPEAK OUT, someone quoted that union members of all of the trades and their connections and clout get 2- to 3-percent increases in wages and they think Social Security should automatically go up, too. I am in a trade union and here is something people maybe don’t know about trade unions. We are a private sector. You do not pay taxes for us. You do not pay my benefits. Nobody pays my benefits but me and in 2008, my particular union took a four-year freeze on our pay. That means for four years I got absolutely zero raises. We voted for that. Now, if you want to talk about the teachers unions, I completely agree with you or the public sector unions, but I don’t know why you’re going after trade unions because you don’t pay our salary. It’s that simple. You don’t. We pay our own benefits. Not a penny of tax dollars goes to us. I blame my union for not separating us from the public sector unions.

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Does it ever seem to amaze you when a politician gets in office—I don’t care how poor he was all his life—but once he gets in office he finds out he can spend money hand over fist. His reasoning goes out the window. He doesn’t listen to anybody. He forgets his background, how many times he had to do without or whether he went to bed hungry and couldn’t afford food. Once they get into the position of a politician’s power, they tax people, we can print more money, we can spend like anything, even if we’re going to go broke or our grandchildren are going to go broke. Why does the reasoning leave their head? Why do they spend so that we can’t even talk to them? I think we should clean the whole political office out and start all over again. Let them look for a job like the rest of us and start starving again before they really understand. Goodbye.

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It’s official. Computer hacking and Internet scams are perfectly legal. Why? Because there’s no legal recourse, no policing or agency to “go after” the perpetrators and absolutely no one will go to Nigeria or foreign countries or even if the hacker is your next-door neighbor. Remember this: Anything you see advertised as free or a survey or contract, redirects you to the hacker’s site. They then disable your System Restore function and install a multitude of difficult or unremovable programs that basically follow your every entry or activity. If you actually buy something to repair or scan your computer for viruses they put in, no one will pursue these people, so you are sunk, battleship style.

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Hi, It’s Lombard calling. I live on North Lincoln. We’ve had an influx lately of pigeons overhead and pooping on cars and stuff. I don’t know if anybody else is having this problem, but it just seems like this year it’s been horrendous. I never saw pigeons in this area before and now they’re just flying overhead in droves. Anybody else having this problem? I’d like to hear.

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We left church Saturday night and walked down St. Charles. It was an amazing experience. My wife and I bought pizza and Coke and sat on some steps, listened to some music, looked at the old cars, seniors were getting up and dancing in the street. It was a great few hours.

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To the person who suggested writing down license plate numbers of those who slow down on Main Street to stop for pedestrians and bikers, and then reporting them to the police, if I am busy taking down a license number, then I am not paying attention to the road, now am I? If you drive on Main Street regularly, you know people are going to stop, whether they are supposed to or not. Just use common sense and pay attention to the car in front and anticipate that he or she might stop. Keep your distance.

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Any country or number of countries could not extinguish American freedom. Our country will die from within. Look at our leadership. There’s a terrible crisis on our border and our Congress and White House go on a five-week vacation. When is the last time you had a five-week vacation?

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Hi, Villa Park calling. I just want to say, anybody who’s thinking of voting for Rauner, please do a little research. Do we really want another millionaire who’s removed from the struggles that most of us face every day, who thinks that everything can be fixed like it’s a business? His latest is spreading increasing amounts of what appears to be lies and misinformation about the record of government in Illinois, saying that we’ve lost so many jobs. Actually, under Pat Quinn, Illinois has gained jobs in the private sector and the public sector. I don’t think that’s by accident. I just think it’s going to be a long road back after decades of mismanagement. I don’t think Bruce Rauner is the one who’s going to do it. He thinks it’s going to be a cake walk because he’s so smart and he made a lot of money in the private sector. Well, good for him. Why don’t you go serve on a library board or a school board or elected office for a small town or village?

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Hi, Lombard. I’m calling in response to the suggestion that we ticket every motorist who stops for pedestrian traffic on the trails. I’m pretty sure rear-ending another car will get you a ticket for, say, following too closely and if you see so many people stopping, one would think that you would figure it out and start watching for it. Thanks, bye.

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We are participants in the Saturday night Cruise Nights and just wanted to let you know we think the Portolets are old and filthy. Many people come to Cruise Nights from all over and this is what they see. Get your disposal company to clean them or get new ones to rent. Thank you.

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This is Lombard calling. I always love reading the On the Beat column by Marguerite Micken. In last week’s Lombardian she listed again the favorite restaurants she enjoys. I wanted to also add one that my husband and I have enjoyed for many, many years, and that is Simon’s in Villa Park on Roosevelt Road. They always have specials, great food and wonderful service. Thank you.

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Lombard calling. We are told by the people who believe in global warming that it is the actions of man that causes global warming. It is July and we are enjoying unbelievably cool weather in many parts of the United States and the world. One could use this and say, it must be the actions of man that’s causing it to be cool. So, why don’t we, meaning mankind, keep doing that, because we don’t need to spend billions or trillions to figure it out. As a matter of fact, if we use that same logic, what we have done the last couple of weeks, we should be able to keep it like this, 70 degrees during the day, all the time. I know it sounds crazy when you put it that way, doesn’t it?

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Lombard calling. Trustees in Lombard seem to be doing a good job these days. Last week a SPEAK OUT person asking Bill Ware to resign is out of touch. That’s my opinion. He represents his constituents well and is steadfast in his convictions, which is a lot more than you get from most officials. He brought up video gambling because some businesses he represents wanted it. I give him credit to bring it up again for the test. People actually woke up, showed up and made their thoughts known. This is America. That was democracy in action. Don’t discriminate because someone has a different slant on things.

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I was at the Madison Meadow park recently when it opened up and was very sad to see some teenagers doing everything they could to break the swings already, especially the swing that was put there for handicapped children. They were doing everything they could to break them and the police showed up rather quickly because the kids were trying to knock over the outhouses. Parents, please get your teenagers away from the playgrounds that are meant for the children. It’s brand new and they’re trying to break it already. Thank you.

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This is hypocrisy 101. The United States is berating all the companies for wanting to leave the country to pay less in taxes but Obama isn’t cutting back his spending. He keeps increasing his spending; the Democrats keep asking for more money and keep spending more money. You can’t have it two ways. Why doesn’t he cut back on his spending? Why doesn’t he cut back on flying in that big jumbo jet that’s costing us billions of dollars every year? But he wants companies to spend more money. Ha, ha, ha. Why doesn’t he stop spending? We’re deeper in debt now than we have been under any president. He’s just no good. He’s a hypocrite. He’d better start getting on the ball, otherwise there will be more companies leaving the country because they can’t pay any more in taxes.