Lombard. I would like to know what happened to the Deerfina store in downtown Lombard. I heard the rent was going up. This is not the first time I’ve heard about a price increase by landlords in downtown Lombard. I want to know if trustees, the town center and the Village of Lombard have reached out to the small business owner to help them out. This could be one of the reasons we have many empty storefronts downtown. Thanks.

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I’m in Villa Park and riding behind a school bus with my windows up and my air conditioner on. I can’t believe the diesel fumes I’m smelling and I’m riding three quarters of a block behind it. I’m wondering what these kinds of fumes are doing to our school-age children who have to ride the bus or stand outside the bus area waiting to get on a bus. These fumes are absolutely overwhelming. It would seem like a school bus would be the first thing that should be converted to natural gas. Waste Management is doing it, the gas company is doing it, ComEd’s doing it. Why can’t we get the school buses to do it?

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Hey Lombard, it’s great to see all of the positive comments about the Glenbard East football team. The homecoming game is this Friday the 26th and the Rams play one of the top-ranked teams in the state of Illinois, so come to the game and support the team and our high school.

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Hi, this is serious. I went to my mailbox and to my surprise, from the county I received my tax bill back that said, “unable to find account.” So I called them and she said she didn’t understand it. I called the credit card company because it was a convenience check and he told me they processed it to the wrong area, so I called her back and was told I was the only one this ever happened to. I’m just wondering if anyone else who paid with a convenience check has had their tax bill returned for lack of having an account. If it’s more than a few, I would think the county has a serious problem. Thank you, bye bye.

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Lombard calling. This is in response to the caller complaining about the skeet shooting range in Glen Ellyn. I just have one comment/request. For the love of God, please no more skeet jokes this season. Thank you.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. To the residents of District 1, I say, if all you have in your life to complain about is a private country club allowing a skeet range, then you need to get a life. The noise is not going to interfere with your lives. I suspect you are also anti-Second Amendment. Whittington ought to stay uninvolved, as it is not in his jurisdiction. Thank you.

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A few thoughts on Terrace View Pond. When I moved to Lombard in 1991, Terrace View was a fisherman’s paradise. It had an average depth of 6 feet and boasted crappie, blue gill, catfish, carp and trophy bass up to 5 pounds. The park was a jewel and an oasis for kids and families. Terrace View was built years ago as a retention pond for flood abatement. Then in the 1990s, developers tore down the woods on the flood plain, drained the pond to 3 feet and built dozens of new homes, obviously without overhead sewers. When these homeowners’ basements flooded, they complained and now you can see what an abomination the pond has become: algae, matted weeds and a fish-killing depth of 2 feet. Way to go, Lombard.

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Good morning, SPEAK OUT. Just letting you know that Glenbard East has more than just a football team. They have multiple sports. Come check out a volleyball game. Varsity plays quite a bit in the afternoon at 5:30. Thanks. Bye.

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This is a message to those who dump electronic equipment on other people’s property. If you have an old TV to drop off, or a stereo, or whatever, don’t drop it in some store’s parking lot. Across from the Villa Park Police Department, there’s at trailer where they will take it for free and you can drive right up to it and not get arrested for dumping. There’s also one at the York Township Highway Department, where there is one next to Goodwill on Roosevelt Road in Lombard. They also have a facility and you don’t have to get arrested. Thank you very much. Just want to let you know what’s going on.

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I would like to thank all the volunteers who worked so hard to organize and run the Family Fun Night this past Friday. This event is the kick-off of the Papoose, Princesses, Guides and Trailblazer programs. Even though the weather was less than desirable, it did cooperate enough to hold a fantastic event. The number of families who came to attend this event with the tenuous weather shows how popular it has become. It was wonderful to see old friends and to meet new families as well. It was especially nice to see the youth of yesterday now bring their children out to join the programs. I would also like to thank the Village of Lombard for allowing the Family Fun Night sign to be placed around town, helping to promote the event. And lastly, I would like to thank all the businesses who donated such wonderful prizes for the raffle. All in all it was a great event to begin another program year.

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Are you Republicans so dumb you can’t see your party is destroying the United States of America? They won’t vote for anything; you have two parties within a party. You have the extreme right-wing Tea Party that wants to smash everything and then you have the actually normal Republicans, but they’re so pushed down by the Tea Party they can’t get anything done. Your party, the Republican Party, is in deep trouble, and maybe you people ought to start reading other things and listening to other things and do some checking for yourself on how bad your Republican Party and Congress is.

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I enjoyed the new restaurant on St. Charles Road, the Baba Karam, it’s next to Mickey’s Hot Dogs. I had a nice cup of hot tea he gave me while I was waiting for my order. It was Persian tea and the food was very good. I recommend it highly and also the new Polish restaurant. My son took me there and we really enjoyed that and the music on Sunday afternoon was lovely, by the Highlanders. They play I believe, from 2-7 and play Happy Birthday for anybody celebrating their birthday. Have a wonderful day. Goodbye.

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Hi. I’m calling about the banners along Main Street and there’s been some dialogue about that. Really, life is too short to worry about this but I just had to say my opinion. I agree with people who called and said they are unattractive. They are not professional-looking. It’s hard to describe why, but they look like they were water color paintings on banners, which you really don’t want to do on street banners. You need sharp, crisp colors on street banners. Pretty much anybody in the business knows that. It’s just, they’re a waste of money. Why is the village doing this? If they’re going to do it, do it right. It’s very frustrating when resources are so limited. So, yes, this isn’t the biggest issue in the world and I agree with that but I just had to say, I agree with the person who called that they are not attractive and really wonder who signed off on these final products. Maybe you’d want to involve your citizens who have some talent and skills in this area and ask them. Bye.

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A man got over the fence and up to or in the door of the White House with a knife. Now will they close the border? How safe are the rest of us if he can get in the White House?

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Hello, I’m the 77-year-old man who called last week who’s lived in Lombard over 53 years and I just want to ask all the people in Lombard to come out and watch this young football team that Glenbard East has next Friday night. They play the best team in the state so come out and support these young kids. They deserve it. We are Lombard.

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I have two boys who play for the Lombard Falcons and for the past few years they’ve been telling me they want to go to Montini because they play better football. Well, I took them to the Glenbard East game in Aurora Friday night, and they were so impressed, that they switched. They now want to go to Glenbard East and play for the Rams. So, thank you Glenbard East. You saved me thousands of dollars.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I think that your journalist Scott Reeder should run for governor. I’d certainly vote for him. I look forward to his articles in the Lombardian and I agree with his viewpoints on government issues. To me, his articles are not Republican or Democrat, but are just simple common-sense knowledge for any governor of Illinois to look at and follow or at least think about. I think the Lombardian should send a copy of each issue to each gubernatorial candidate. Maybe they would slow down long enough to read it. It may help them to put some common sense into their decision making. Just my opinion. Thanks. Bye.

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Hello, this is Villa Park calling. A message for the Villa Park police and the village board: Just observe while driving around how many residents and lawn services blow their leaves and grass into the street. I have seen time and time again police cars driving by the residents who were making serious messes of leaves and grass in the street. They do not stop. It appears as though the police do not know the violation is against the village ordinance. Where is the village board on this matter? Maybe some tickets should take care of this problem. Let’s clean up the streets, drains and gutters. Thank you.

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Reading SPEAK OUT gives me an insight into the prejudices and thinking of people. Hopefully some are not part of the voting public. For example, somebody said don’t vote for Rauner because he’s too rich. Wow. Look at our state and someone said, stay with what we have, Quinn. Wow. Another example: We can’t criticize our president and compliment the U.K. prime minister without someone saying, go live in England. We all must wake up or we won’t have the great country we once had.

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I appreciate the Village of Lombard looking out for me, the homeowner, with the electricity aggregate over the last few years, but I am so dismayed that we are now again at ComEd’s mercy if we want the so-called cheapest rate. Lombard researched and found out ComEd was the cheapest—even though it was raising the rates. OK, fine, but as I look at my bill from the same time last year, it is $28 less than this month’s with similar usage. I’ve felt the hit in my wallet since around June, when ComEd raised the price. While ComEd is not a monopoly, it sure feels like one.