I can’t help but think, with all the fire pit calls, about how the fall and winter air smells when people are using the fireplace in their home. It’s not directly coming at me, but it’s still there nevertheless and can be unpleasant. But, where will the regulations begin and end? What about barbecue grills and the smell of burning charcoal and charcoal fluid? I am not for or against a ban, but I sure would miss roasting marshmallows.

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This is for the people who get upset because somebody might have a different opinion than somebody else does. We all have different opinions. That’s all there is to it. Civility is gone. That’s all there is to it. Anytime when somebody has a different opinion than somebody, they like to slam them. What gives you the right to slam somebody? I’ve disagreed with people of all walks of life regardless of what their views are—conservative, liberal, moderate, whatever—and I can tell you, we’re such a divided nation right now. People can’t seem to have a civil conversation anymore. They always have to just start the name-calling, etc. Let’s start looking at the candidates and look at their credentials and that’s it. Don’t vote for somebody because you think they’re handsome or anything like that. Let’s vote because of what they plan to do.

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I’m at the Four Seasons park with my daughter at the green park and I see two adults smoking cigarettes. I’m in the middle of the play area and can smell them. Is this legal?

Paul Friedrichs, executive director of the Lombard Park District, responded to your inquiry: “Enacted Jan. 1, 2008, the Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces, including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores, restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities.  It did not prohibit smoking outside in any public location. So yes, smoking outdoors in the parks is legal, although it is prohibited within the fence line at the Paradise Bay Water Park. As part of our Parent Code of Conduct, the park district does require that smoking not take place around any of our athletic fields while games or practices are taking place. We would also hope that anyone smoking in any of the parks would refrain to do so around the playgrounds or anywhere else children’s activities are taking place. Should you have any further questions about this issue, or anything else park district-related,  please feel free to call me anytime at 630-953-6016.”—blm

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Lombard, are you kidding me? We lost the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools because of a small fraction of people who are against it, and now there’s talk of no God in our Pledge of Allegiance? Now, someone in Lombard’s complaining because of fire pits? You’ve got to be kidding me. A fire pit is just like being in the north woods. Haven‘t you ever been fishing? Haven’t you ever gone camping? Haven’t you ever gone to a bonfire? It’s a shame when one person or a small group of people want to ban something that the majority of people enjoy. Fire pits are legal. They’re not illegal. Have a good day.

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Unbelievable news flash. The Internet states that the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates passed a resolution saying the union formally opposes Common Core. I can’t believe what my eyes read, while DuPage and other counties are still touting Common Core. I don’t know where these counties are coming from; they haven’t done their homework. But, goodness, Chicago doing something right for a change. Wow.

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Hello, Lombardians. I’m a resident of Lombard for 44 years and I’ve seen many changes through the years. I remember when it was a simpler time. I am one of those people who enjoys a nice burning outdoor stove, a wood burning grill and I’ve been reading in SPEAK OUT there seems to be somebody who has a problem with it, trying to get a petition going. Since I read that, I am going to go out and buy two extra loads of wood and I’m going to burn wood 24/7 as long as the weather’s permitting because I enjoy the smell of the great outdoors and I see nothing wrong with burning something in a legal device that is sold at the hardware store. It’s sad when there’s someone like you who has to ruin it for everybody else.

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In Lombard there has been a lot of talk among the trustees about bringing video gaming to town as a way to make more money for local businesses, gaming suppliers, the state and local governments. Thoughts of morality, addiction, village image and such are of little concern when money is the center focus. But money derived from video gambling really doesn’t amount to that much. If Lombard truly wants to make a buck, I suggest that we legalize the sale of marijuana within village limits. Colorado and Washington are doing this and profits are huge. A majority of voters in those states assure us that marijuana is not habit forming, that it leaves the users mellow, laid back and happy, even while driving in traffic, and school kids wouldn’t be selling it on the playground during recess. What could possibly go wrong? The state would watch over the entire process and who wouldn’t trust the state?

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When did this country become a country of negativity? When did this country become so opposed to some people’s views that they have to call them names? When I was growing up, I was taught by my parents to respect people’s opinions. You don’t have to believe in it, but you respect it. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. Why in the world do people have to tell people they’re stupid because they don’t believe in that person’s beliefs? I believe in one thing; you believe in another. That’s how America should be. I don’t know why, or when or where we got into this point about calling people stupid because they don’t believe or don’t do what I say they do? Come on, America, let’s get back to the way it was.

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Regarding the controversy with the Lilac Princesses as one of the princesses being a trustee’s daughter, maybe it would be in the best interest of the whole Lilac Princess organization if there was a rule that no current trustee, village employee or Lombard Junior Women’s Club member have a daughter in the princess competition. One is the stepdaughter of a current Lombard police officer who also serves on the park district board. So, to avoid these controversies, maybe that would be a good idea for the Lombard Junior Women’s Club to come up with that rule or guideline. Thank you.

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To trustees Laura Fiztpatrick and Trustee Peter Breen: We are grateful for your defending the rule of Law. And Trustee Laura Fitzpatrick, thank you for defending your and Trustee Peter Breen’s position and presenting truth as presented in  the Lombardian, Wednesday, May 14, 2014, article, “Trustee Defends Position on Vote.” We are grateful for your vote to maintain a covenant with the good people of Lombard and your desire to govern with the rule of law. If public bodies are accountable to discipline themselves and maintain a higher standard of ethical conduct, we would not have had to endure and see the lack of good judgment, and mean behavior as presented in the Lombardian. If only those who displayed nasty, poor behavior would do their homework, be prepared to act as statesmen and embrace wisdom and truth, those who reside in our town would not be embarrassed by reading about the character assignation in our local newspaper. After one has been given wisdom, truth, the facts, surely they will do the right thing and apologize for their irrational, mean behavior. Trustee Fitzpatrick and Trustee Breen and the good citizens of Lombard deserve no less.

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Hi. I want to thank the village for cutting down the tree in front of my house and it looks very nice. The tree had to come down. It was dead—it was one of those ash trees. But, I’m just letting the village know that please, do not bother planting another tree there because with the cost of water and the cost of sewer, I’m not going to water it; and unless you’re going to come around and water it with your truck, it’s going to end up dying anyway. So, please, save the village money. Don’t plant trees. Bye bye.

Thanks for calling SPEAK OUT, but please call your village hall and let them know.—blm

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I was just watching the news; made a promise to myself to only talk about Lombard issues, but as there are fast-food restaurants in Lombard, I see there was a big workers strike in Chicago. The fast-food workers wanted $15 an hour to flip burgers and make fries. You chose to work at a fast-food restaurant at a salary that you were quoted. Why are you striking? You chose to accept that salary. You chose to work at that restaurant. If you didn’t like that salary or the restaurant, try to find a job somewhere else. It’s unfathomable that they took a day off, all these strikers, getting no pay, to strike for $15 an hour for fast-food restaurants.

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This is regarding the water bill. I just find it very strange that I got the same $159.42 water bill for the last two bills and this person had the same billing that was in the SPEAK OUT. I was wondering if you had any response from any other people in Lombard.

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Once again, Mrs. Fitzpatrick printed a blanket reply to this young girl about receiving her scholarship fund. It seems to me when the village attorney told them that this was not illegal, that they could do this, she was so concerned about her fiduciary responsibilities, maybe she should have thought a little more about this young woman who was thrust in the middle of this debacle because Mrs. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Breen felt that it was a conflict of interest. You know, you could have handled it, you could have shelved it and saved it until after the Lilac Parade, not thrusting this lovely young Lilac Princess in the middle of your needless performance at a board meeting. Thank you.

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I’d like to say to the people of Villa Park, our streets are horrible. Our police don’t give tickets for blowing stop signs and red lights. Maybe we should all get together and stop paying taxes because they can’t take care of anything in this town anymore. They raise our taxes but they don’t fix anything. Thank you.

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OK, all you SPEAK OUT readers, I want to give you something to think about and think about it very seriously. I’ve been totaling up my three biggest expenses, everyday expenses, where the money goes. Number one, real estate taxes. Number two, gasoline. Number three, food. They’re essential to live and it’s time for us to get rid of government or cut it in half. We have to do something. Our politicians are causing all the problems. Give it a thought and make some desperate changes when election day comes. Get rid of those politicians. We can’t afford them. They’re breaking the country.

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We just picked up a copy of “Conform” by Glenn Beck, a great resource for understanding Common Core education. Only a few pages in and it’s clear that it’s progressive Marxist indoctrination. For example, you can’t criticize them unless you are college educated and been in the classroom. It attacks home schools, parents’ rights and promotes the collective. It also says there will be no “crazy” Bible stories in the curriculum. So if you think there were surprises in Obamacare, well, this has surprises too. Let’s call it what it is. It’s Obama Core. Thank you.

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As a resident of downtown Lombard, I take exception with the person who called about re-appropriating the money. Let me preface this by saying my residency pre-dates Cruise Nights. One, Cruise Nights is a nice free event, but to most of the businesses and all of the residents, it’s a traffic nuisance. Free event means just that. Most of the people attending Cruise Nights don’t generally spend money in businesses, especially those who bring their cars every week because the vast majority of them are from Lombard. It’s also noisy and messy for the residents. We leave Lombard every weekend and spend our money elsewhere just to avoid it. Two, how is a business supposed to make money when every opportunity the village and Lombard Town Centre has, it closes the main artery to downtown? Thankfully both entities wised up and moved it from Saturday to Sunday when a lot of businesses are closed, but a lot are. To a resident trying to navigate the closed streets, just so I can leave my home or access it, is aggravating. Further, when everyone starts setting up the Sunday street closure, we suffer the noise of equipment and clanging poles for tents being set up at 6 a.m.

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Lombard calling. I want to thank the Lombard Park District. Today was a beautiful day and I decided to have lunch outside. I bought a chicken lunch in Addison and I was going to go to one of the local parks. I rode past several of them and there doesn’t appear to be one picnic table in any park in Addison. So, I drove to the lagoon and had my picnic in Lombard. Thank you again, Lombard Park District.

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Hi, Lombard. Facebook’s Lombard Forward Web site I feel is a negative experience for Lombard. It’s a one-sided propaganda space for people to blast off and create animosity throughout the village, especially in our leadership throughout our trustees. I feel we need to become more positive and work together, instead of taking sides constantly and pitting each other against each other. Thank you.

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I want to give a shout out to the Lombard Kiwanis, who have one of the best house walks I’ve been to, and also a congratulations to Mary Beth Lynch and Corinne Flemm for doing a wonderful job this year, putting together six beautiful houses. Thank you. Looking forward to next year’s house walk.

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Like another caller my water bill in Lombard is also the same as the previous one. A couple of years ago I got three bills in a row for the very same amount on each. When I called I got an answering machine. I left my name, account number and a brief message as to why I was calling. I called twice but never got a return call. My husband said to forget about it and pay the bill. It sounds like a scam and price fixing. Maybe Bonnie MacKay and the staff at the Lombardian can give us some answers because we sure can’t get it done anyplace else.