Why is it legal for grown men to stand in the middle of busy intersections and peddle candy? It’s 4 p.m. on a Friday. I just turned north onto Main Street off of Roosevelt and I almost hit one of these peddlers, who was standing in the middle of the intersection. This is ridiculous. Why is this allowed?

Your comment was forwarded to the Village of Lombard, which provided the following response:

“Under the Lombard Code of Ordinances, organizations and solicitors for charitable funds must comply with state regulations regarding the solicitation of funds and must register with the village clerk prior to receiving a local solicitors license. If applicants furnish required information identifying the individuals who will solicit and can evidence compliance with certain state laws, they will receive a local fund solicitors license. Fund solicitors licensed within the village may solicit for philanthropic and charitable cause donations within the community, are required to possess identification and typically wear colors of high visibility. For more information about fund soliciting and village codes regarding solicitors, please visit www.villageoflombard.org/solicitors.”—blm

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This is Lombard calling. It is now the second day of fall and I was wondering, I haven’t seen anywhere about the Prairie Fest. The Prairie Fest was one of the most amazing things for kids and adults to go see real life for learning about bees and knowing how to keep the prairie alive and outside walking in the prairie area. What happened to it? Last year it was supposedly canceled due to lack of interest but again, wouldn’t you want to try it again? Kids don’t where anything is, with modern technology. Thank you.

Paul Friedrichs, executive director of the Lombard Park District, responded: “Prairie Day was a combined event with the Lombard Garden Club which annually took place at Terrace View. Unfortunately, due to major declines in annual attendance it was not offered in 2014 or 2015. I would suggest that anyone interested in learning more about the tall grass prairies of Illinois refer to the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute Web site and click on ‘Prairies’ at the bottom of their page. The Web site address is as follows: http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/organization/. Should you have any questions regarding this event or anything else Lombard Park District related, please feel free to call me at 630-953-6016.”—JAC

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You would think that residents living on Taylor and South Stewart have the convenience of walking to the village hall for business or to the U.S. mail box. The only pedestrian crossings are far from Stewart and are at Grace and Hammerschmidt. As a handicapped person, I need a closer, more convenient access from the north. Especially in the winter with snow. The sidewalks going to Wilson on South Stewart have the red bumps on them and end exactly at Wilson Street on the north (wrong) side. Why have these sidewalks if not to use them? The solution as I see it is to produce matching sidewalks on the south side across from one or both of them to the Wilson sidewalk for the village hall.

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What if the people of Illinois declared that they were neither Democrat nor Republican? What if the people of Illinois called Madigan’s office and Rauner’s office demanding they sit, talk and get things done? What if the people of Illinois did not take sides but demanded action? That’s a lot of what ifs. I am really disappointed in the people of Illinois.

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The politicians who are telling all the illegals their children get free college, wonderful. But we legal American taxpayers who have worked and paid for everything we have with no entitlements know that nothing is free, and we know who’s going to pay for it. So, keep working, Americans.

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Lombard calling. Anyone sick of seeing those yellow cheap condo for sale signs that are popping up on our street corners? I know I am. At first I thought it was some poor soul who had hit on hard times and needed to sell their condo, but on a recent ride out to Elgin, I saw those same signs. Let’s get rid of them. They make our beautiful village look cheap and trashy. Thanks for listening.

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I had to laugh when I read someone’s comment about the mental stress of teaching. Yes, it must be terribly stressful to be in a room of young people who have to do whatever you say. What is stressful about earning over $100,000 for nine months’ work? No working out in the heat or cold, no heavy lifting, no going into dangerous neighborhoods. If the hamburger flipper makes a mistake, someone could become seriously ill. If a teacher makes a mistake, no one gets hurt, no one loses any money. The teacher doesn’t have a dime of his or her own money at risk. I have my own business and I don’t earn nearly as much as a teacher. I once made a mistake on a document. I got one digit wrong and because of that my customer lost a few thousand dollars and I had to write him a check. I run that same risk every time I do a transaction. Now, that’s stress. When’s the last time a teacher had to reach into their own pocket?

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I’m watching the Democratic debates and I never saw so many Communists in one spot. They make me sick. They’re out to destroy the country.

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This is Villa Park calling. Voters approved the tax referendum for new sewers and most of the south end of Villa Park has never been done. We are now being advised by FEMA that we are in a 100-year flood zone and we need to add flood insurance for a couple of thousand dollars a year. The village found money to do Cortesi park, put in water fountains on the walking trail and redo perfectly good landscaping at the village hall. What about finishing the sewer project? Cosmetic things are nice, but in the long run it is not going to help the village as people are just trying to get rid of the houses cheaper so they don’t have to pay the insurance. What we need is the completion of our sewer project, which we are paying for, and a retention pond to alleviate water. We also need an overhaul of our village officials. We need people who will address the issues and help the residents.

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In the Republican stronghold of Southern Illinois, Rauner’s disapproval rating is close to 80 percent. Governing means more than going to rallies and repeating the same stale speech about Democrats, courts and unions. Do you know what would be a strong selling point to businesses thinking about relocating to Illinois: a state budget. There currently isn’t a budget impasse; the budget is being held hostage.

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I totally agree with the SPEAK OUT comment of the 14th regarding the Lombard Post Office. We also are not getting good mail delivery. The Lombard Pride magazine that comes out, every other month, we haven’t had a copy of it delivered at all this year, so I go down to the village hall and pick one up. But I think the mail delivery is bad.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. First of all I wanted to give thanks to the Lombardian staff for being a great newspaper for all the years I’ve been reading it. It always gives us the news we wouldn’t hear in other places and we enjoy it. However, I’ve got to tell you, I was a little disappointed with the Oct. 14 edition. The previous Saturday, which was Oct. 10, there was a lot of horn blowing by the railroad, starting around 10:30 p.m. and going for hours. There was no indication of what happened in the paper. I heard from other sources that a pedestrian got hit and killed, but I don’t know why that wasn’t reported. I called the village hall the next morning and of course they know nothing about it, they never seem to, and the railroad, it’s very hard to get in touch with them, so we rely on the Lombardian for this information, but it was not covered this time. So, please keep all of us hundreds of residents who live near the tracks informed of what the noise is all about. We appreciate it. Keep up the good work, guys.

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To my new neighbor with the noisy car. I don’t care what it looks like, but could you at least put a can around the exhaust pipe, tail pipe, wherever the hole is, and secure it with a clamp or something? That car wakes me up at odd times, startles me when you turn the car on and is nerve-wracking to hear you coming down the street. Please have some consideration. I can’t help but wonder how that is affecting your own hearing.

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It seems President Obama and his cohorts in the Democratic Party don't see Russia, Cuba, Iran and ISIS as some of our country's foremost adversaries. Obama and his followers seem to save most of their animosity toward Israel, Republicans in Congress, the Tea Party, Fox News and people who question global warming. I'm looking forward to Jan. 20, 2017.