Exit polls of Republican voters show that more than half felt betrayed by Republican office holders. The populace has apparently seen that Rauner is responsible for the decimation of social services and higher education; and he is the only governor in the state’s long history who could not negotiate a contract with the state’s largest unions or a fiscal budget. He’s apparently not even trying. A smart state rep would smell the coffee and realize that if he were to start negotiating with the Democrats that he could dictate terms of the budget and cut some sweet deals for his district. If he could show labor that he could work with them, he could be the next governor.

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I really hope the Villa Park Library has actual figures and a completed diagram of what they intend to spend our tax dollars on. At the last meeting no completed diagram or actual dollar figure was available. It was a waste of time. I would also expect the library to get at least two additional estimates, just as any reputable business does. And, let’s hope the figures to fix up the current building are not inflated to promote additional building space that we don’t need. The meeting is Monday, April 18, 7 p.m.

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In regard to the caller asking about the Westin in Lombard, yes, the Westin is owned by the Lombard Public Facilities Corporation (LPFC). The LPFC is a group of five residents appointed by the village. The three people responsible for proposing legislation to change the state law to allow the LPFC to exist are no longer with the village. On Sept.4, 2003, the Village of Lombard passed Ordinance Number 5351. That ordinance approved the incorporation of LPFC to assist the village in securing financing for the construction of the convention hall and hotel facility. The formation of LPFC was necessary because the cost of the project exceeded the village’s statutory bonding limitations. Now the current administration has to clean up their mess. According to the 4th Quarter 2015 Consolidated Income Statement from the Westin property, the total amount owed on the bonds to build this property is more than $226 million. Recently a similar property, the Westin in Wheeling, was sold for $60 million in June 2013. In 2014 the Lombard Westin was valued at $74 million. So you can see this property is upside down by more than $152 million. Let’s hope that doesn’t come back to the taxpayers. It is my understanding the village has refused to cover the shortfall of the payment on the bonds each year because if they pay once they have to continue paying the entire $226 million due to the bond holders, so that is a good decision by the village.

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Right before the election, others and I noticed in a mailing from President Giagnorio, endorsing a candidate, that the literature called him the mayor of Lombard. When will people get it straight? We have a village president and board of trustees. A mayoral system works somewhat differently and typically calls its trustees councilmen and women. Think Chicago. That’s a mayoral system.

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Hello. This is Lombard calling. I was wondering what happened to the second-hand resale shop on Harvard and St. Charles. It was a consignment shop. It went out of business kind of overnight. I just wonder what happened to it. Thank you.

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Who’s wrong—the person using his right to freedom of speech, or the protestors not allowing his right to freedom of speech and using violence to stop it? If you don’t like what someone says, leave or turn it off and don’t listen, or go away. But you have no right to take away his right to say it, with violence. It’s un-American.

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Hi, Lombard calling here. We recently got some new neighbors on our block who decided to hack up a beautiful, humungous live, larger-than-life oak tree that’s been on this block probably close to a hundred years and it’s a disgrace; with all the trees dying in Lombard of the emerald ash borer why somebody would hack up a beautiful oak. I understand it’s their house now, their property and they can do what they want, but everybody in our neighborhood is mourning the decimation of this beautiful oak tree. It’s a pity.

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This is Villa Park calling regarding the mail delivery of the sales ad. Delivery should be made on Tuesday, no later than Wednesday. Villa Park rarely gets them delivered to us by Wednesday. It’s now Thursday, due to shortages of carriers. They should give a credit to the suppliers who are paying good money for those to be delivered at the proper time. Getting them on the days we’re getting them, it’s late. The sales are over in most cases. Thank you.

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I can respect last week’s letter writer who talked about vegan choices. One thing, though, I disagree with and that is telling readers we “should” check out plant-based foods. Why not make it a suggestion or for consideration, etc. that sounds less preachy? Also, the writer talks about less red meat being consumed, but is it all because people are eating vegan or maybe because chicken and fish are also a healthy alternative?

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This is in response to the person asking about a grocery store coming to Lombard in last week’s SPEAK OUT. Please take a minute to look up Prairie Food Co-op. They will be a full-service, community-owned grocery store. They’re busy out in the community spreading the word and recruiting owners. I am personally an owner and cannot wait for this store to open. I hope you’ll take a minute to look them up and invest in this community-owned grocery store. Thank you.

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Lombard Village President Giagnorio’s State of the Village address should be held in Lombard, not in Glen Ellyn or another village. The chamber of commerce has a responsibility to support other villages and consider costs to their members and supporters. President Giagnorio has a responsibility to support Lombard businesses as he encourages all of us to do.

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Hi there. Calling from Lombard. With this early spring, we’re having animals out foraging in garbage and I just want to let people know they need to wrap their garbage better. I would prefer to think it was garbage but in the 900 block of Hammerschmidt I just spent over five minutes wrestling some raw Italian sausage out of my dog’s mouth, that she found out in the yard. I would like to think it was improperly-disposed-of meat from someone’s house and not meat that could have possibly been poisoned and put out there to purposely kill an animal. Either way, please people, dispose of your trash properly; raccoons and skunks are going to be out soon, if not already, and household animals are out and we don’t want to see any of them getting poisoned, purposely or by accident. Thank you.

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As to the Villa Park Library expansion, I think all public entities should stick to their mission. The library should be for books, not for meetings, not for parties, not for computers. A good example is the state of Michigan. Instead of looking at their infrastructure, they offer all kinds of other services and now Flint does not have drinkable water. Thank you.

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I’d like to get your take on the question I have. If people buy a house in a flood-prone area, and they expect the general public to buy them out, they made a mistake. The general public didn’t make a mistake. So if they own a house in a flood-prone area, they should be buying flood insurance to protect themselves. Why should the general public be coming up with tax dollars to buy them out of the mistake they made? What are we going to do every time somebody makes a mistake—the general public is being taxed to pay for it? I think this should stop. If you make the mistake, you pay for it and admit your mistake and protect yourself.

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Normally I only talk about Lombard issues for the most part, but this is insane. I’m watching the news; there was an Easter egg hunt in a certain town and the Easter egg hunt was on tennis courts. Hello, no hiding of the Easter eggs or plastic Easter eggs—hundreds and hundreds of them on a tennis court. So much for tradition.

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A contribution to SPEAK OUT spoke of the holding of the state as a hostage and pro-business agenda. This is the old and tiring party line. Look at the state. Is it good financially? No. Was the past great? No. Four governors going to jail? What are the prospects for the future? Bleak at best. One way to get Illinois going is to provide a budget. Secondly, this is the way to put us on the path; more people working. Why demean a business approach that gives our citizens incentive, a good financial future and pride? Look at Illinois. What do you see?

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Here is another example of how Obama apparently deceived the American public. The Obama administration set a record for the number of times federal employees told disappointed citizens, journalists and others that despite searching, they couldnt find a single page requested under the Freedom of Information Act. According to an Associated Press analysis, people who ask for records receive censored files or nothing, in 77 percent of requests. Also a record. This is just another example of how Obama apparently lies and says his administration is the most transparent ever.