“Congratulations Lombard on the worst idea ever; of the flashing beacon on Main Street and the Prairie Path. As stated in the notice in the posting online, Illinois State law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk and just like at any other intersection, drivers are not required to stop for people on sidewalks waiting to cross the road. You are only required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. So just one more reason for people to come to a screeching halt in the middle of Main Street, where there’s not a stop light, to cause more accidents. Why don’t we just put up a stop light or put up a bridge?”

This comment, which appeared in the Feb. 24 issue of the Lombardian and Villa Park Review, garnered the attention of the Village of Lombard, which provided the following response:

“The Village of Lombard recently installed a new Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) system at the intersection of the Illinois Prairie Path and Main Street. This idea was researched by village staff, recommended by residents serving on the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, and was approved by the Lombard Village Board with Lombard’s first ever village-wide bike and pedestrian plan. These particular systems are approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and have been shown to increase driver yielding from 18 percent to 88 percent in FHWA studies.
“Yes, state law does require that drivers stop for pedestrians within the crosswalk. The bright flashing lights of the RRFBs will help to make crossing pedestrians more noticeable to drivers, allowing drivers to better follow the law and keep pedestrians safe. Other alternatives were considered, but these options were cost prohibitive and negatively impacted traffic. The RRFB was chosen because it is a proven countermeasure with minimal cost and requires no construction to the Prairie Path. For more information, visit www.villageoflombard.org/bike lombard or call public works at 630-620-5740.”—blm

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Hi. I would just like to put a thank you out to Greg and the guys at Sundberg Appliance in Villa Park. They're always very helpful and very knowledgeable and they helped me fix my dryer for under $30. Thank you very much, guys at Sundberg.

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This is about the Villa Park Library. It's really simple: You want a new library, you pay for a new library. Don't ask the taxpayers to pay for something that in 20 years will not be there. If you want it, pay for it yourself. Don't ask everybody in the village to pay for something they're not using and not going to use and will be obsolete in 20 years. Have the people who use the library pay for it, give them fines, fees, whatever, but don't ask us to pay more taxes for something that's going to be obsolete.

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To the person who inferred in SPEAK OUT that illegal immigrants would be welcome at the Vatican, yes, they would be welcome, along with all other sinners, saints, even Trumps, Clintons, ISIS and anyone else who seeks to know Christ better. And frankly speaking, any Christian church that follows the teaching of Christ should welcome any and all persons regardless of who they are, their backgrounds, their beliefs, heritage, race or whatever. As Christians, our faith teaches us to be open to all people, to love them and show them our way of life in hopes that they, too, will become followers of Christ.

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Hello, this call is not a call of complaining. I had such a nice experience of kindness extended to me Friday, Feb. 26, about 12:40 in the afternoon at Jewel on Main Street. The lady in front of me at the checkout asked if I was playing the Monopoly game; I said yes. She said, “I’m going to help you,” and gave me her 18 pieces. I wonder if she has any idea how much her kind gesture lifted my spirit. Ma’am, if you’re reading this, I thank you again. We need more people like you in the world; random acts of kindness. Take care and God bless you. Bye bye.

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Hi. I’m outraged Lombard has no ordinance protecting its residents from property damage caused by extremely overgrown landscape from an adjacent property. What’s more outrageous is being told by zoning and ordinance not to go to my trustee with this issue because it doesn’t appeal to the masses. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to have the side of my garage repaired every other year and continue to drive on my lawn to avoid further damages to my vehicle.

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

“It appears that the issue involves tree branches encroaching onto a neighboring property. Tree and shrub branches extending onto and above neighboring properties is common, and municipalities do not generally address such growth within the municipalities’ ordinances, as the scenario is a civil matter, involving private property and two private property owners, as opposed to public property. If such growth causes neighboring property damage, as was implied with this case, it can create a civil liability issue. Generally speaking, property owners have the right to trim branches that encroach onto their property from a neighbor’s tree. However, such trimming should only be performed up to the property line, and should be done with care, so it does not severely damage or kill the tree. It is recommended, however, that any such trimming not be undertaken without first advising the tree owner about the problem, and the proposed trimming solution that will be forthcoming. While not knowing the context of the statement relative to engagement with an elected official, residents and property owners do have the right, at all times, to contact their elected officials if they have a question. Village staff are willing to meet with property owners and elected officials, if necessary, to facilitate an amicable solution or answer questions. Following up from this inquiry, village staff also met at the residence on March 1 to further explore options to assist the property owner.”—blm

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The issue I want to bring up for everybody to pay attention to, we’re going to have elections soon and a lot of it is going to be about immigration. About a dozen years ago, I was at a fast food restaurant and there was a Mexican immigrant waiting on me at the counter. Somehow we got on the subject of him being in the country and expecting something for nothing. He said, “This is a free country.” I said, “Listen to me, sir, this is not a free country. You have freedom but if you don’t pay for it, I have to pay for what you don’t pay for.” Somebody has to pay for somebody else’s free stuff. If you want to be in this country, you’ve got to work and earn your way.

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Villa Park calling. It is Wednesday, March 2, and I just received my Villa Park Review and I’m reading about the Christmas decorating awards that were given out. It’s too bad that these weren’t done sooner so that many of us could go and see and enjoy the lights that these people worked so hard for. Thank you.

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Thanks for the information in the picture in the paper about President Giagnorio’s State of the Village address. Two questions: looks like the place was in Glen Ellyn, why wasn’t it in Lombard? And, of the 1,000 or so fire department calls that were not medical emergency calls, how many of those were actual fires or smoke or were they false alarms? What’s going on?

Your question required an answer from both the Lombard Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Village of Lombard.

The following is the response received from Yvonne Invergo, executive director of the Lombard Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry:

“The Lombard Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry was notified of a price increase at the end of 2015, by the venue that we had been using for the past three to four years. The increase was quite substantial and, had we stayed there, we would have needed to increase the attendance price by $10 per person. We knew that an increase such as that would be a hardship for many of our members, so it was determined at that time that we would need to look for a new venue. The considerations for finding a suitable lunch venue were: It must be a Lombard Chamber member; have space to hold up to 150 attendees, meet a price that was affordable to our members [and] be able to accommodate our meetings consistently at the same time each month. Our very supportive member Crowne Plaza generously met the price that we had previously been paying, as well as all of our other requirements. I had a conversation with President Giagnorio before agreeing to our new venue, since the February State of the Village address would potentially be our first lunch held there. He was fully supportive, and understood why we needed to change [the] venue. President Giagnorio also understands that we are an area chamber, thus offering our membership opportunities and benefits to businesses in and around the Lombard area, including Glen Ellyn. There were over 130 attendees for this year’s State of the Village address, including department heads and trustees from the Village of Lombard, as well as both the village president and the village manager of Glen Ellyn.”

According to the Village of Lombard’s response, “The Lombard Fire Department responds to a variety of calls for assistance that are as a result of 9-1-1 activations. The majority of our annual responses are emergency medical responses. Other responses cover a wide range of requests for assistance including fires both large and small, activated fire alarms in a variety of occupancy types, carbon monoxide alarms, gas leaks, smoke investigations, lock-outs, chemical spills and a number of responses due to severe weather events including wires down, trees on houses, flooding and other miscellaneous citizen requests.”—blm

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There was a commercial on an American channel on TV, on an English-speaking channel, it was in Spanish. Are you serious? Are you serious? It has to stop, please.

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Lombard, I would like to know whose job it is to write a fair article of the Democratic or Republican Party. Please refrain from writing this type of article as March 2. I can listen to all the comments of news at 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock. I don’t need a repeat. Walls don’t hold the answer. Read history. We live in a diversified world. Will we never realize the value or respect compromise and patience? Compromise has been slow and action seems to be turning a very dangerous way. All will be compromised to balance out living together. Let peace begin with you.

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Does anyone ever bother to check on how many people cross the border or get into the United States at the border or over the fences? I highly suggest that you either fact check or go online and find out because actually it’s down lower than it’s ever been. It’s not higher; it’s lower. I suggest you actually stop listening to people who keep telling you these things and you’re worried about the illegals who have been coming here for years and years to migrant work. Then all of a sudden the businesses and the hotels and the hospitals and restaurants decided, let’s bring them over ourselves. We can pay them dirt compared to what they pay the American people. The whole system is wrong. If you want to vote for a buffoon for president, then you go ahead and vote for Donald Trump.

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Hi, this is a Lombard caller. I heard a rumor that Mr. Z’s was sold and that it’s going to be another food store. I was wondering if there’s any truth to this. Thank you.

The Village of Lombard answered your question with the following: “The property at 401 S. Main is zoned as a B3 community shopping district and is identified in the village’s adopted comprehensive plan for commercial use. As of March 1, 2016, no formal development, redevelopment or occupancy plans are before the village for consideration, nor have there have been any building permits submitted or applications for zoning approvals at the former Mr. Z’s location.”—blm

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So you want to vote for Hillary? Remember. She lied, men died. After Benghazi, her reply to Congress was, “What’s the big deal?” Ask the families of those who died. They have cried and cried. When Hillary was secretary of state, apparently with no regard for secure e-mails, she created a mess. If you let our government secrets out and you’re an average Joe, or named Snowden, off you go to Russia or China but don’t worry, our government will find you and off to jail you’ll go. But, Hillary’s OK. She’s running for president today.

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“I’m calling on behalf of my neighbors who are here in Lombard and the tree service that is being used and how the trees are being just hacked and looking completely unnatural. I tried to call public works, they said nothing, they won’t do anything to change this. They’re doing a horrible job and besides this, they’re knocking down squirrels’ nests out of the trees as well. The squirrels are panicking and all around it’s a really bad thing. If you look at the trees, they’re in horrible, horrible shape. Trees are not meant to look like stick people.”

After seeing [this] comment in the March 2 issue of the Lombardian and Villa Park Review, the Village of Lombard provided the following information:

“Tree trimming can make a big difference in the appearance of trees, and while the visual changes could seem severe, the trees themselves are trimmed according to standards established by the tree care industry. In order to provide trees with ample time to recover from trimming, the village’s trimming schedule is arranged so that large trees are trimmed every six years. Sometimes, the cutting might have to infringe on the natural form of the tree in order to maintain clear roadways, (trees must give a 14-foot clearance over our village roads), and in order to keep power lines clear. The purpose of the tree trimming program is to promote healthy and balanced growth, and also to prevent weak or unstable branches from harming people or property, specifically during storm events.

For more information, visit http://villageoflombard.org/treetrimming or call Public Works at 630-620-5740. Lombard has been a Tree City USA for 25 years in a row and we share your love of our beautiful trees!”—blm