In the 1990s our neighborhood changed. They redid the streets, and we did get sidewalks, parkways with trees on it. That was a big improvement. But that was a long time ago. In these 20 years, the sidewalks settled and the cement broke at some spots. Recently I went over to my neighbor’s house. I fell down at a spot where the sidewalk had settled. I damaged my nose and mouth area. I was bleeding, even on my hand. My neighbor took good care of me, and pretty soon the bleeding stopped. I am just glad that the fall did not damage my front teeth. Isn't it possible that the village inspects the sidewalks for uneven spots and then repairs them? I don't think I am the only one who experienced this. I have to stay home now for a couple of days until I look normal again.

Your concern was forwarded to Village of Lombard officials, who responded: “There are more than 222 miles of sidewalks in Lombard, which is almost the same distance between Lombard and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The village does not have a formal inspection process. The village will address issues that are encountered or brought to our attention by residents. The Village Board of Trustees has adopted a Sidewalk Policy that governs the expansion and maintenance of the village’s sidewalk network. A copy of the policy can be found on the village’s Web site. The policy classifies two types of deficiencies for public sidewalk. If a public sidewalk is in poor aesthetic condition (cracked and/or spalling- peel, pop, flake or crumble due to water entering concrete), residents wishing to replace it may participate in the 50/50 Sidewalk Replacement Program. Residents participating in this program pay approximately 50 percent of the cost to replace each sidewalk square.

“The second type of deficiency is defined as a trip hazard. If a trip hazard (an elevation difference of more than 1¼ inch) is present in the public sidewalk, the public works department will first ramp the trip hazard with asphalt to mitigate the immediate hazard. Once this is done, the location is added to a list for replacement. Trip hazards are replaced within one year of report. If you believe that there are hazardous conditions that exist, please contact the department of public works at 630-620-5740 or complete an online service request through the village’s Web site at www.villageoflombard.org/reportaconcern.”—JAC

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I just heard that Chicago is planning to charge a 7-cents-per-plastic-bag tax starting in February. That on top of higher gas prices and taxes on so many other things makes me glad to live in DuPage County, despite how paying for a new library and increased water bills in Lombard will cost me way more than my Social Security increase for 2017. If it were to reduce waste, I could understand, but the news report said even paper bags, which are recyclable, will be taxed. No surprise there. Like the soda tax, another ploy disguised as “for our own good” to keep spending without making cuts and just heaping it on the taxpayers.

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Hello, Lombard School District 44? What's going on with the building that’s being knocked down adjacent to Madison Meadow park off of Wilson? Will it be replaced? What happened to the programs that were in that building? Thank you for your pending informative answers.

Your inquiry was sent to Lombard Elementary School District 44 Assistant Superintendent-Human Resources and Public Relations Aldo Calderin, who responded: “The Fairwood property is owned by Lombard School District 44, but has not been used for District 44 activities since 1979. Various private entities have rented the space, most recently, Pioneer Childcare.

“Pioneer moved to a new location in October 2016. The building was in severe disrepair and District 44 has discussed razing the Fairwood building for the past four years. The Lombard Park District inquired about the property and came to a land swap agreement with District 44 effective in January of 2017. The agreement essentially entails an even exchange of 5.83 acres of land at Fairwood for 5.83 acres of land adjoining the Park View School property and requires that the property presented be a “clean” piece of land with no existing structure. As of January 2017, the land will be owned by the Lombard Park District.”—JAC

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I just want to warn everybody when they snow-throw their sidewalks, be very careful when you come to the edge with the disabled plates because they chew up the augers. It’s very possible. I have one that got destroyed, so be very careful when you do that. Thank you, bye.

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Villa Park calling concerning the library referendum. First, in response to the person who said the board of trustees voted unanimously to put the referendum up for a vote, that does not mean that they’re supporting it. They’re turning it over to us to decide if we want it. Second, since this all started, I have been reading through Coming Events to see exactly what programs the library is offering. I suggest everybody do that. I think a lot of it is nonsense. For instance, they were offering ukulele lessons, sponsored by Friends of the Library; now maybe that’s separate funding, I don’t know, but I don’t consider that really vital to the citizens of Villa Park.

Your comments were forwarded to library Director Sandra Hill, who responded, “As a lifelong education institution, part of the library's mission and vision is to provide and promote a diverse assortment of cultural, educational and recreational services to a continually changing community. In the January-April 2017 issue of the library's newsletter, patrons will find over 90 different programs offered to members of our community. Here is a sampling of programs for January: Babies & Books; Creative Science: Dinosaurs; Ready for Reading; Engineering Club (co-sponsored with Willowbrook High School); SAT Practice Test; Seed Starting (co-sponsored with Grow Healthy Villa Park Coalition); Medicare Seminar; Mars: The Beginning of Human Exploration; and Ukulele Classes (sponsored and paid for by the Friends of the Villa Park Library). The library is partnering with Perry's Music in Villa Park on these classes. The classes are limited to 20 registrants. The class is currently full with three individuals on the waiting list. A wide range of programming is crucial to meeting the varied needs and interests of our community.”—JAC

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This is in response to last week's comment by someone who said that the price of health insurance skyrocketed because insurance companies were not making enough money because people were not getting sick and putting in claims. OK, let me get this straight: Insurance companies are making less money because they are paying fewer claims? In the last six years I have paid in about $40,000 in premiums and I have made zero claims. So according to you, I am driving my insurance company broke and that's why they raised my rates by 60 percent this year.

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OK, ladies and gentlemen, all you people who didn't believe Donald Trump would win the election or should win the election, listen to this: Once President Obama leaves office, that's going to be the end of the big spending; every time he took a vacation with his wife and two girls, it cost us millions. When Donald Trump gets in office he isn't going to be spending that kind of money on taking that many vacations, and you people are going to have more money to put in your pocket. So, get over the Hillary loss and let’s start looking for better days ahead. Happy New Year. Goodbye to all.

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Happy New Year everybody. I want to comment on the gorgeous display that the people from Lombard Park District did over at Lilacia Park. It was just so calming, so beautiful. Thank you so much for giving our village that beautiful light display.

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Glad to see Sen. Tom Cullerton has such a firm grasp of the obvious. That is to say, Illinois government is bloated and way overdue for a good pruning. We taxpayers have known this for decades. He doesn’t need Gov. Rauner to call him; he’s been on board from day one. He needs to push Speaker Madigan in this direction.

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Are there any plans to bring back the old SPEAK OUT section in 2017? A more appropriate title for the current section might be “Long-winded responses from village officials.”

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Lombard calling. I just love these sanctimonious actors and actresses who use their time in front of a microphone at events like the Golden Globe Awards to force-feed their political views down everyone’s throats. I could care less what Meryl Streep and the rest of these clowns in Hollywood think about anything. Go back to your mansions in California, or wherever you live, and shut up. Or better yet, move out of the country like you always threaten to do.

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Finally, thank you; a decent answer from the park district about the geese. Took you long enough. Anyway, I’m not a golfer but here are a couple of my suggestions. Find the eggs and get rid of the eggs or just shake them up. Shake them up, you know, kind of like make scrambled eggs inside the eggs. Or, you could hold board meetings in the park. Maybe all the hot air would scare the geese away. Oh well, thanks for trying.

Editor’s note: Lombard Park District Executive Director Paul Friedrichs has addressed the Canada geese issue in SPEAK OUT—as far back as July 2012—with essentially the same response that the animals are federally protected.

According to the University of Illinois Extension, “Canada geese, like all waterfowl, are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Illinois Wildlife Code. It is illegal to kill or remove geese or destroy nests or eggs without a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In certain situations and settings a permit may be issued to destroy eggs. Nests may be destroyed before the first egg is laid (a permit is not needed).”

As for the length of time to get a response, officials and sources to whom SPEAK OUT editors reach out have other job responsibilities that undoubtedly take precedence over our requests for information.—JAC

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During the campaign, Trump promised the coal miners that he would put them all back to work. Maybe he did not realize that many of their jobs were replaced by technology. Maybe he is planning on building the wall on the border out of coal.

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It’s only early January and it's amazing what Donald Trump as accomplished before he's even inaugurated on Jan. 20. He has saved Carrier jobs in Indianapolis that were going to go to Mexico. There was a Ford plant that was going to be built in Mexico and now they're going to invest in a new facility in Flat Rock, Mich. Also, Black and Decker, who is buying Craftsman from Sears Holdings, is now going to be bringing jobs back to the United States because Donald Trump is going to have much better laws and regulations where they will be more corporate friendly. So, all you Trump haters, why don't you cut this comment out and in two more years you'll remember all the great things that he's done. He's going to make America great again.

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Enough is enough with the politics. It would be great if people would keep their big opinions to themselves and let SPEAK OUT be about relevant community information. Thank you.

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I just wanted to say I'm proud to live in Villa Park, the town that has no police and I pay high taxes for these people to do nothing. Thank you.

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The eight years of Obama is finally coming to an end. In 2008, our national debt was $8.6 trillion. At the end of 2016, it is now $19 trillion. He has accumulated more debt in his terms than all the other 43 presidents combined. He and his administration have alienated Israel, our only ally in the Middle East. He has lifted sanctions for Iran, which is reportedly one of the biggest terrorist countries in the world. Iran has openly stated they want to wipe Israel off the map and of course, Obamacare, which is now showing the true cost for this program: outrageous premiums and very high deductibles. I could go on and on with all of Obama's failures. I welcome Donald Trump to make America great again. Thank you.

Editor’s note: CNN Fact Check notes that “The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the budget deficit for 2009 was $1.4 trillion, slightly more than triple the $458.6 billion deficit for 2008.” Additionally, an article at https://www.thebalance.com/national-debt-under-obama-3306293 by Kimberly Amadeo  outlines three methods of figuring out the national debt since Obama took office. Also, politifact.com quotes Jeb Bush as saying that Obama accumulated more debt than all 43 presidents. However, the site also states in a Feb. 18, 2016, article by Louis Jacobson, “It’s been awhile since we last checked a claim of this sort, so we decided to take a closer look. Bush phrased his claim carefully, and it largely holds up by the numbers. It’s also important to note, though, that Obama isn’t the only one responsible for the growth of the federal debt.”—JAC