Hi, this is Villa Park here. I'm really curious to see how much the village spends on Oktoberfest. It used to be a very good event, but the amount of patrons and vendors appears to be way down. I'm curious to see if it is still a viable event in the future.

Your inquiry was sent to Village of Villa Park officials, who responded: “The Village of Villa Park's Oktoberfest 2016 expenditures totaled $31,533, which includes the cost of Parks and Recreation staff members and police who work the event, the cost to hire the bands that perform and the amusements. The village has been monitoring the event the past several years, and staff is always actively looking for ways to improve attendance. For example, staff members have discovered new events in neighboring municipalities take place on the same weekend.”—JAC

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Hi. I'm out walking with the stroller with my baby and toddler in it, and I keep seeing all these “Yes, Helen” signs. How would I get one of those? I'd like to make sure, because I'm voting yes for that. I want what's best for my family. Thank you.

E-mail voteyeshplibrary@gmail.com or angela2016vote@gmail.com with your address.—JAC

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To the person who complained of President Obama's supporters, make sure you check out Page 18 of the issue your rant was printed in. It tells of the home sales, median price raise. Then thank all the Republicans in Congress who didn't pass immigration or health care reform when they held control of both Houses. Whose fault? Oh, yeah. Hillary's. By the way, the budget's not balanced because the Republicans voted in an unbalanced budget again.

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Villa Park calling. I had a young man knock on my door who was campaigning for Sen. Tom Cullerton. This young man was knowledgeable about the issues, passionate about politics and very polite. His dedication and determination were admirable. He made my day with a smile, a handshake, a please and a thank you. The next day, I found his hand-written card in the mail thanking me for my time. The next time a young person knocks on your door campaigning, hear him or her out. They are our future leaders and the next generation to make a difference for all of us.

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Reading over the information about the referendum on the Plum Library Web site, I noticed that as part of the estimated 2019 budget alone, of the proposed line items is increasing staff by the equivalent of 11 full-time employees at a cost of $732,150. Line items also include increases in the IMRF/FICA ($123,731) and benefits ($37,804) presumably for those employees. What justifies this added expenditure; what are the jobs they will be doing? Even if the board 20 years from now rescinds the extra taxes when the loan is paid off, those are expenses that will not go away. In fact, with annual raises, who knows what those line items will add up to over the next 20 years.

Your inquiry was forwarded to Helen Plum Memorial Library officials, who gave this response: “Currently the staffing level at the Helen Plum Library of 47 FTE (over 25 hours a week) positions is well below that of other neighboring peer libraries. As a comparison, Downers Grove Public Library currently has 62.17 FTE. At least half of those proposed budgeted additional staffing increases will allow current part time staff to work more hours. The proposed staff increases bring the library close to the state recommended levels. Some of the responsibilities of new additional staff or increased hours will include more customer service hours, a teen librarian, new technology and digital services training specialists, added security and facility monitor hours, and more hours for staff to provide outreach to schools and homebound patrons.”—JAC

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This is Lombard. I'm calling in regard to Doris Shertz's Sept. 29 letter to the editor about the Helen Plum Library. Her statement that it only costs $131 per person per year is inaccurate. We're already paying taxes for the library. Some of us will pay an additional $200 a year. They need to get the facts straight on this. Vote no, people. We have a chance to control our taxes.

Anyone wishing to calculate his or her particular tax increase, should the referendum pass, can visit http://www.helenplum.org, and click on the tax calculator link. Have a copy of your 2015 property tax bill handy, or the property’s parcel number.—JAC

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I want to compliment the band Pedestrian, who played at the Villa Park Oktoberfest. They were the first band to play that day right after the Sept. 11 ceremonies and they sounded fresh and looked like a bunch of nice kids. I learned a little bit more about them. They write their own material and they're a local band from the Villa Park area, so I just wanted to give them kudos. It was a very impressive show.

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Wow, Fairfield and Wilson is now open. What will we do for entertainment? No more turn-arounds for people who won't obey signs.

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Lombard calling. Just wondering why is there no Pace Bus Service on Main Street or even St. Charles Road through Lombard? Years ago there was a bus that went down Main Street, went to Yorktown and I think it went east, maybe to La Grange or someplace. It would seem that it would be a big plus to the village. Thank you.

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Hello, SPEAK OUT. Crossword puzzle. Can you make it any smaller than you have in the last two issues of the Lombardian? If I sound like an old crank, I am an old crank, but one day you'll go to bed not being an old crank and wake up as an old crank. Life moves on and for those of us visually challenged, can't you just make it a little bigger so you don't need a magnifying glass to see what the clues are? If you need space that you don't want to give up, try giving up the Sudoku solution. Either it works or it doesn't. You don't need a solution. Thanks.

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There have been several recent negative comments in SPEAK OUT about the Helen Plum referendum. I'm guessing these people can't afford the $15 a month for a world-class library in Lombard. Do they know what attracts people to a community? The new library is an investment in the future. Vote yes on the Helen Plum referendum.

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Well, I see the annual State of Lombard event is moved from Glen Ellyn to Downers Grove this year. Maybe next year the Lombard group will have their meeting in Lombard, but I don't have much hope.

Your information is incorrect. According to the Lombard Chamber of Commerce: “This year’s Lombard Community Development Update lunch was held at Crowne Plaza which is in Glen Ellyn (not Downers Grove). Crowne Plaza is a valued member of the Lombard Chamber, and has given the Lombard Chamber an excellent lunch price on a regular basis. This continues to allow us to offer an affordable monthly lunch meeting to our members. The Chamber’s previous meeting venue elevated its price by $10 per person at the beginning of 2016, which was outside of our budget, and would have forced us to pass the increase on to our members. Crowne Plaza graciously came forward and offered us the price we needed for our members. The Lombard Chamber has chosen to have it5s monthly lunches consistently at the same location each month for the benefit of our members. Moving around from venue to venue each month was often difficult in the past, as there are limited locations in and around Lombard that offer a separate room, sufficient seating and affordable pricing. A consistent meeting location on the third Wednesday of each month makes it easier for our members to remember where the meeting is being held. We remind the caller that the Lombard Chamber of Commerce is an area chamber, thus offering our membership opportunities and benefits to ALL businesses in and around the Lombard area, including Crowne Plaza.“—JAC

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Hi. This is Villa Park calling. I would like to thank the village board for raising the water bill.

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My compliments to the Lombardian for the article by Mr. Austin Berg, who presented a good historic perspective of Mr. Michael Madigan and rise through Illinois politics and how he basically controls all the citizens of Illinois; and how their tax dollars are spent, whether we like it or not; and no matter that we have no control over his decisions. This is a situation that must be stopped if Illinois is to recover from the mess he created. It should be up to both political parties to stop him from further damage in this state, if this state is to become vibrant again for our children's future, if nothing else. Thank you.

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I’m surprised that you published a personal attack against a woman in our community volunteering for the Vote Yes initiative. As a paid subscriber, I hope this policy is given serious reconsideration. I appreciate that SPEAK OUT presents viewpoints on all sides of an issue, but no personal attacks, please. Attacking those who are trying to make this a better place to live is low, pointless and suggests that you can’t defend your viewpoint. Thank you.         

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I don't believe politicians and I really don't believe the liberal media, so I decided to do my own research. I decided to see which states had the highest graduation rate for black students. The four states with the best black graduation rates were Republican states and the five worst states were Democrat states. Texas is No. 1; 84 percent of black students graduate. Illinois came in 31st with 68 percent. The most recent figures I could find for the city of Chicago, which is completely controlled by Democrats and has a strong teachers union, were from 2011. They showed that less than 50 percent of black students graduate. For black males, the figure is 43 percent, and this is from the era when CPS admitted overstating the graduation rates, so the real figures are a few points even lower. You liberals should ask the teachers whom you adore what is more important than an education in lifting someone up out of poverty. The real tragic thing is that in November millions of people are going to vote Democrat because they think Democrats care more about minorities.

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In regard to the person bashing Mr. Trump, yes he says screwy things but he at least has a backbone as does Mr. Putin, how you could put anyone who would run for the president of the greatest land in the world in the same sentence as Putin, a dictator, a murderer, is beyond my comprehension. Anyone, be they Democrat or Republican, who thinks that Putin or even thinks they could be president, who admires a Russian dictator, does not belong in our White House. You people, instead of listening to Fox News, Hannity, O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, maybe you actually had better get out there, be you Republican or Democrat, and read the facts that are actually true.