Whoever called about enforcing overnight parking, in my neighborhood, it seems the police were quick to jump on the ticket writing if I was parked in the street or a guest forgot to call it in. I never did let that happen again.

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This question goes out to the Villa Park Police Department. You have your radar-enforced cameras over by Walmart on 83 because people turn right a little bit too soon and get a ticket. When are you going to do something about all the cars that blow the red light at every single intersection there? All these lights turn red, I see six cars go through. I don’t see anybody doing anything about that.

According to Villa Park Police Chief Robert Pavelchik, “The red light cameras on Route 83 record violations in all four lanes of traffic, not just the right turn violations.”—JAC

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Hi, Lombard calling. I wish to say thank you to Lombard’s Department of Public Works. They provide good service, along with excellent response time, including a caring and concerned attitude. We are fortunate indeed to have such a professional team serving residents of Lombard. I recently had an issue where I had to call them and I think their service is absolutely excellent. Thank you.

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Sad news that Rep. Breen turns out to be just a regular politician. Do what I say not what I do. He can scream at the top of the mountain against COD, but what about the deal with Hulseberg in Lombard? What a disappointment. 

Your comment was forwarded to Rep. Peter Breen, who provided the following response:

“We need serious pension reform in Illinois. Government employees should have the same retirement plan as most folks in private industry: a 401k or IRA-style plan, alongside Social Security. The current pension system is bankrupting our state and it’s full of arcane loopholes that drive up costs on taxpayers. That’s why, right after I was sworn into the General Assembly, I went to my desk on the House floor and signed papers to reject a government pension. Every few months, a news article is published highlighting another problem with the pension system. The latest article mentioned several municipalities, including the Village of Lombard, in relation to the terms of the retirement of our prior village manager David Hulseberg. Manager Hulseberg had a six-month severance package, which he had been awarded many years earlier (prior to my time on the board), along with having accrued significant vacation and sick time from 15 years of working for the village. The way those benefits were paid out as he left triggered a higher pension benefit for him than it should have, based on his final salary. That’s not right, and I’m drafting a bill to close this loophole. The problem is, there are loopholes and special deals littered throughout the pension code. This is why we need to move to a simple, fair 401k-style retirement plan for government workers, similar to the one that most taxpayers have.”—blm

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Hi, this is from Villa Park. I would like to know who is responsible for maintaining the public sidewalk between the library and the Villa Park train station. Much of it is uneven and cracked, and needs to be fixed.

Your question was forwarded to the Village of Villa Park, which responded: “It is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain, repair or replace deficient, defective or substantially deteriorated sidewalks, which sometimes can be an expensive undertaking. To assist the property owner with the associated costs of repair or replacement, the village offers a sidewalk replacement program whereas the property owner can through proper application pay 50 percent of the costs, and the village pays the other 50 percent. Funding is limited in the sidewalk replacement program but it is a good resource to assist in the repair or replacement of sidewalks. Additional information can be found within Chapter 21 Streets and Sidewalks of our Village Code which can be found on our village Web site.”—JAC

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Hi, Villa Park calling. I feed the birds all year long various types of seed but typically during the summer months the birds don't eat as much from the feeders. Not this year—the sparrows are binging as if there's no tomorrow. Besides, the quantity of birds is up in my yard. Has anyone else noticed how ravenous the birds are lately? Thank you.

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Lombard calling. I’m sitting at St. Charles Road and Grace Street trying to go north on Grace Street and it’s about a quarter to 12 Wednesday, Sept. 2. I’m sitting here watching the third freight train go by without allowing any cars to pass. One was coming west and one came east while the one was going west. The one that was going west finally cleared the intersection. The gates went up; the gates immediately came back down and another train going west. It’s bad enough when they park there but they need to schedule this so that that intersection is not closed for 10 minutes at lunchtime, when people are trying to move around town.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling for the Villa Park caller who was complaining about the flooding in Villa Park. I used to live in the 300 block of Summit Avenue and our house would flood when there was just a forecast of rain. It was ridiculous. There was nothing that could be done so we sold the house and moved to Lombard. Come over to Lombard. It’s not as floody as Villa Park, but we still have our issues. Thank you very much and God bless everyone.

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Reading SPEAK OUT over the years and noticing people’s comments about getting involved with our politicians and their votes, I contacted Sens. Kirk and Durbin and asked how they would vote on the Iranian agreement. No answer yet. I agree with the comments, though. We have to get involved. And then later on I’m going to ask about Kate’s Law. I’ll contact both senators. Thank you.

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Good morning, Lombard calling. I see that the governor is dancing around because the General Assembly did not have enough votes to override one of his vetoes. I think that the rest of the state would start dancing around if he sat down and tried negotiating a budget, since we’ve been without one for months now. I can imagine he’s probably putting in about the same amount of effort in negotiating a contract for the state employees who’ve also been without one for months. Thank you.

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Lombard calling regarding the opinion piece by District 87 Superintendent David Larson. His opinion is that a two-year property tax freeze would “harm students.” Since approximately only 20 percent of the district’s budget going to students—with 80 percent going to salaries—the solution is to freeze salaries for two years, then no students will be harmed. Seems his concern is strictly self-interest. Thank you.

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Sometimes it’s easier to communicate through a letter than have a verbal confrontation. You are blessed to have a family with five vehicles. Your blessings should never be an inconvenience to others. Inconsiderate neighbors also park opposite or near others’ driveways, making it difficult and hazardous. Quit complaining and you don’t sound very approachable.

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Sorry, Dr. Larson, but I must take issue with your reasoning for being against the property tax freeze. So many hardworking people have freezes on their pay, or are on fixed incomes, yet have to do without to pay the increases to Glenbard through our already skyrocketing property taxes? And, you’re darn right that so much of the money goes to personnel. Anyone can look on the Web site and see the administrative structure alone—at least five per building and then assistants to the assistants, not to mention the number of administrators at the district office. How about do like Cronin did and find a way to eliminate duplicate and crossover services that siphon off our tax dollars? The case you make sounds more like money for personnel, not for the classroom.