At the Arizona VA, people died waiting. Hidden lists. Shredding information. Cover-ups. It’s just what will happen with Obamacare, only on a nationwide scale. Government in charge of anything is tragic. Just ask the American Indian tribes about it.

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This is the retired school teacher who is proud to live in District 4 Lombard, and who will be sending the next representative to Springfield. St. Charles Road is an important route connecting Route 83 with Lombard. The St. Charles Road corridor is deteriorating at an accelerated rate. Pawn and gold buying shops are catering to those in need of quick cash, a proliferation of liquor outlets. What’s next? More boarded up stores and for sale signs and for rent signs? When friends plan to visit me from both the northern and southern suburbs I urge them to exit either Roosevelt Road or North Avenue and go west to Main Street Lombard, I’m so ashamed.

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Yes, this is Lombard calling for Villa Park. Is there anything that can be done on the Metra tracks at Ardmore? It is very dangerous. You could break the whole undercarriage of your car. The railroad tracks are very, very critical to be fixed. Just curious. There’s going to be enough happening in Lombard between Elizabeth and the underpass. Is there anything going to be done in Villa Park for the Ardmore tracks and Metra? Thank you.

Villa Park Administrative Assistant Erin Knackstedt responded: “The village met with representatives from Union Pacific on May 20 to discuss the rehabilitation of the crossing at Ardmore. Currently a construction timeline is being developed by Union Pacific. That particular crossing has a significant amount of freight traffic and they need to work around the traffic in order to complete the track rehabilitation.”—JAC

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Can anyone please explain to me why freight trains in Elmhurst, Lombard and Villa Park are now stopping at major intersections for minutes, sometimes five to 10 minutes at a time, for no reason at all, or starting up from a stopped position, which shouldn’t happen, but they’re delaying people from doing their jobs or getting to where they need to get to. This has never happened before. It’s happened many dozens of times in all three towns over the last year or so. Why are freight trains stopping and then all of a sudden starting for no reason at all? It’s very much an inconvenience for everybody.

Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, encouraged anyone who sees anything out of the ordinary on the train tracks to call the Union Pacific Railroad Police’s dispatch number at 888-877-7267. Davis said the number is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “If motorists notice a train starting and stopping, they should report it, because there may be something wrong,” Davis said. He said the railroad’s police can pull up information about the train in question and notify the proper authorities.—JAC

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One of the “scientists” the global warming alarmists heed is Dr. John Holden, who is President Obama's science czar. Holden once predicted that carbon dioxide induced famines would cause the deaths of 1 billion people by 2020. About 40 years ago, he said the U.S. population of 210 million was too high. Our nation's population, incidentally, has grown by about 100 million people since then. In short, the man has no credibility. The fanatics, however, continue to lap up the apocalyptic predictions made by Holden and his like-minded “scientist” friends.

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I heard a fantastic interview on television. First, I try to separate myself from the Democrats and their divertive, ideological message. I try to concentrate on individuals who want to move our country in the correct direction. Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, is a great representative. He's pushing forward programs that would benefit our country and the people of his state, not necessarily the Democratic party. How refreshing. Maybe it is time for other senators to take note.

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While I understand the concept behind Trustee Breen and Trustee Fitzpatrick’s concern over giving scholarship money to another trustee’s child, the way that it was handled was highly suspect. First, in the past children of village employees and close relatives of the late president have been in the Lilac Court. They did not bring the issue up for these instances. Only when it came to the daughter of a trustee who regularly disagrees with them, did they bring this up. Second, the timing could not have been worse. Two days before the coronation? Then to have Trustee Breen state that “by law” it had to be pulled for discussion, was completely false. My biggest concern is we have someone on the village board and as possibly a state rep, who falsely states the law expecting all of us to believe him.  To Trustee Breen and Fitzpatrick, you constantly state that you represent your constituents. Well, those constituents are overwhelmingly telling you to leave the process alone. Do not try to over-regulate a time honored tradition.

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Fire pits were never a problem in the village 15 years ago. Why?  Because they weren’t the “in” thing to do. You are not living at a campground in the middle of nowhere. You are in a metropolitan area within close proximity of your neighbors. It is very rude and inconsiderate to others to be burning material in your fire pit that is affecting the health and well being of neighbors. If your fire pit produces no smell then great, burn away. If you want to pretend you are camping then why not go camping?  You chose to live in an area that is densely populated so you have to expect certain activities you should just not do because of that.  What happened to being considerate to those in your neighborhood? So many in our village no longer abide by the “good neighbor” rule. Excessive parties, all night street parking, dogs barking, fire pits etc. Come on, just have some consideration and common sense. Treat your neighborhood and others with respect. If you love the outdoors and fire pits, go camping or move somewhere where your neighbors aren’t 10 feet away. You can’t smoke in public, same principle. Also I wanted to respond about the Lombard water bills. Yes, my bill has been exactly the same many times.   

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I am amazed when I see trustees preach about fiduciary responsibility and being tight with a dollar and standing on ethical grounds. Aren’t these the same trustees who approved a buyout of the previous village manager and gave him more than what his contract called for? And the same trustees who continue to pay him his monthly salary, but won’t investigate the Westin project and why we owe $206 million in bonds on a property that is worth only $70 million? Don’t waste all of this money and then stand on high moral ground over a $1,000 scholarship.

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Wow, it’s great to see that Lombard is going to have an Ale Fest on Father’s Day weekend. Woo hoo.

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Lombard calling. My last water bill was also $159.42. Coincidence? I doubt it.

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This is Lombard calling. This is to the person who is complaining about Cruise Nights, about any functions that happen in downtown Lombard. First of all, it is downtown Lombard, and it is where Cruise Nights and the festivals need to be done. Cruise Nights is one of the hottest events every Saturday night from June until the end of August. Second of all, you claim that businesses don’t make any money. Every business in downtown Lombard on St. Charles Road, on Park, are always packed out the doors because of Cruise Nights. There’s one business that has said, if it wasn’t for Cruise Nights, they would never be able to be open because they don’t make enough money, but Cruise Nights is what helps them to make money.

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I’m calling about the water bill. I received a water bill for around $96, then the next week, I received another water bill for $96. They double billed. People, please be aware that if you’re paying the same amount on two water bills, maybe, just maybe, you received a secondary billing. And, it’s far worse than just having the same amount, because it would catch up. The secondary billing, as I was told, was a computer error. Well, I don’t believe it. Someone had to press enter to bill. I don’t see why, Bonnie, you wouldn’t check out why people got two bills for the same cycle on different days. Thank you very, very much.

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To the person who wants to burn wood 24/7 in a fire pit, that kind of spiteful attitude will ruin it for everyone else who uses fire pits judiciously, not to mention that it is inconsiderate if someone has a health condition. I hope you are not my neighbor. Also to the person who lives downtown complaining about the sounds of setting up for the craft fair early on a Sunday morning, are you saying you can’t put up with the noise one day out of the year? Geez, how do you handle the sound of freight trains every day if the sound of setting up tents bugs you so much?

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Maybe the village can save money on scholarships and pay someone to wash the squad car for the parade. I was embarrassed to see our police department drive a dirty car in the parade; how hard would it have been to have someone go to the car wash? Lombard Pride?

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Hello, Lombard. My name is Donna and I want to thank the young man who picked me up. I have MS. At Señor Jalapeño I fell. I have my walker but I fell and a young man in his 20s picked me up because he’s a kind man, and I want to say thanks to him. I don’t know who he was but I’m thankful to the Lord for him. Thank you. Bye bye.

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Lombard is not the North Woods. If I use a fire pit in my yard, I am 25 feet from my neighbors compared to the great outdoors. People use fireplaces when it’s cold out so their neighbors’ windows are closed and they don’t smell it. Also, I doubt if people are using fireplaces to burn yard waste, including leaves, garbage, papers, anything that burns. The people who are calling in and supporting fire pits make the case against them with their own illogical, aggressive arguments. The problem with fire pits is not with the fire pits. It’s with the people who use them without regard for their neighbors.

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Lombard calling. I’d like to make a comment. I’ve been going to the Lilac Parade for over 30 years. We have always put our chairs out every year on Saturday night. This is the first year we came on Sunday and someone had stolen our chairs. So, I just wanted to give a shout out to whoever thought that would have been something nice to do. It wasn’t. Secondly, I had also received two water bills that are the same amount. I thought it was just a fluke and a coincidence but now, hearing that it happens to other people, I know it’s not. I think the water department does owe us an explanation. If anyone else has had their chairs stolen, I’d like to know.

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Hi. I wanted to call about the Lombard Mutt Strut and how frustrating it is to live in the area that it is done at. Should you have to leave and come back, people will not let you back down your street to get home. I did get very upset with one of the volunteers, and I apologize for getting so upset; I understand it’s not their fault. But what I would like to see is, if I live on the street, I don’t understand why you can’t let me get to my house just because of a Mutt Strut. Maybe there’s a better way of organizing it so it doesn’t have to affect the people who live in the area if they need to leave their house or come back to their house. Thank you.

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Hi. This is to the person who’s trying to rationalize the other person’s 50/50 percent on global warming. The one thing you’re missing is, the Hawks beat the Wild, that’s a fact because that was on national television, it was in the newspaper, people could see that with their own eyes. So that’s a fact. You may say global warming is a fact because you have data that says that global warming is true. Your philosophy is flawed because the Wild losing to the Hawks is fact; global warming is not. So, you’re wrong.

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Lombard calling. I’m wondering what happened to the postmaster from Villa Park who’s supposed to be supervising the Lombard Post Office? I was there this morning. The grass is knee-high. I don’t believe it’s been cut for a couple of weeks. Looks awful. There’s also a sign out in front saying they’re open 24/7 in the P.O. box area, and they’re not on Sunday and they’re not after 6 p.m. Somebody needs to watch that post office or close it. Thank you.

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Hello, Lombard. May 16 and today as I stood on the shore of beautiful Lake Michigan in Evanston, Ill., it was snowing. Now I’d like to tell you a little something. I’ve got the exact same expertise in climatology and meteorology as the world’s foremost leader in the global warming. Yes, Al Gore. I have exactly the same formal education he has in both of those. Somebody recently called in SPEAK OUT and said you can’t say there’s no global warming because of a cold winter. Just like you can’t say there’s global warming because Al Gore said so. Why is it that Al Gore’s an expert on this? Snow in May and someone will call and say it’s still global warming out there.

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Pay attention to where your money is going. We’re being taxed an extra dollar for our vehicle registration fee, yet the money isn’t there to equip the state police vehicles. Where is that money they took away from us; who has it; and what was it spent on that it wasn’t supposed to be spent on? There should be an investigating committee and someone should be made accountable for this. Enough of this going on in the state of Illinois. Speak up. We can’t take any more of this going on.

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Do you ever check weather forecasts of different locations around the world? Check out the weather at the South Pole at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Right now it’s 92 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. It’s supposed to warm up in the next few days though—to 50 below zero. That will sure melt a lot of ice. Global warming—we’re all doomed.

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Would the inspector general of Illinois please investigate the VAs in Illinois? People, do you think Illinois would be any different from Colorado or Arizona? Our vets are owed more than that.