What is Lombard going to do to hire a new police chief? It has only been posted internally to village employees. To get the best candidates to interview shouldn't it be posted online and do a nationwide search? Not doing this doesn't sound smart or give the residents the best chief.

Village of Lombard officials responded: “First and foremost, the village would be remiss if it did not recognize Police Chief Ray Byrne upon his retirement from his career in law enforcement that lasted over 37 years, of which the last 15 were in service to the Village of Lombard as police chief. Best wishes to Chief Byrne on all of his future endeavors as he retires later this year. With regard to the process for hiring a new department head such as police chief, there are many factors that come into play including the status and morale of the department, the existence of qualified employees that could assume the role and the cost of recruiting and relocating potential candidates from other communities. All of these components have been taken into consideration as part of the village’s succession planning. Based upon the current status of the police department and the existence of qualified personnel with the village, the recruitment process will be focused internally. However, it should be noted that the process will include a rigorous interview format that includes an assessment center, department head panel and other components that will help verify that the internal candidate or candidates [who] apply are qualified to assume the role of police chief. In addition, it should be pointed out that there has been a past practice of hiring department heads from within the organization including the police department, fire department, finance department and community development department. Also, by conducting this process internally, the village will save approximately $20,000 in fees related to the hiring of an executive recruiter to perform a national search.”—JAC

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God bless America and our fallen soldiers. I didn't see enough American flags flying but watching the news makes it obvious that Trump has the right idea. Open borders do not work, and our country needs borders and rules. You can't come to a country illegally and stand in the streets all day and protest and demand rights. You earn rights. You don't make enough money? You get another job. If you can't afford children, don't have them. It is not our responsibility to support you and your children—it's yours. What makes America great were the legal immigrants who came in and worked hard. There was one language, there were family values, there was love of country, honor of the flag and the veterans who made this country safe for you. Everyone can live in the country of their choice but you don't come into a country illegally and try to change it to yours.

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Article X, Section 1 of the Illinois State Constitution states: "A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities. The State shall provide for an efficient system of high quality public educational institutions and services. Education in public schools through the secondary level shall be free. There may be such other free education as the General Assembly provides by law. The State has the primary responsibility for financing the system of public education." Some sources cite Illinois as being close to, if not, last in percentage of funding contributions for schools, roughly 20 percent versus a 45 percent national average. Legislators seem to wiggle out of the obligation by saying that the keyword here is "goal." This is putting such a burden on the backs of home-owning taxpayers. It is time we hold the politicians' feet to the fire, or let them know they will be voted out next election, especially after this ongoing budget debacle in which neither side will blink. For an informative article on the subject, check out http://www.ilraiseyourhand.org/statefunding.

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Is anyone missing a black cat? I spotted it on Tuesday, May 30, on the corner of Ahrens and Madison in Lombard around 6 p.m. It looked in good shape, well taken care of, but I didn't see a collar. Hope you find it if it's yours.

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We really enjoyed the fly-over at the beginning of the Lilac Parade this year. Is there any way to have purple smoke come out the back next year? Great job.

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I'm interested in trying to get chickens approved for residential ownership in Lombard. I discussed with my trustee via e-mail and his response was that this was addressed several years ago and rejected. I'm wondering how to get it back on the discussion list to have it looked into again, as many surrounding areas have it. Does anyone know how to get this back on as a topic or to have my trustee help me with this?

A request for information was sent to Village of Lombard officials, who responded: “The issue of residential chickens in Lombard has been frequently raised by residents who are both for and against it. In 2010, the village board reviewed whether the existing Lombard Village Code should be amended. Through extensive research and discussion, the village board voted to keep the existing prohibitions in place. In response to a similar inquiry last year, village staff completed another review of this issue in summer 2016. The review of many surrounding municipalities in 2016 found that while some communities allow for the keeping of chickens in limited cases, other municipalities decided to keep the prohibition in place. Ultimately, no further action was sought by the Lombard Village Board and the long-standing prohibition of chickens remains. For any further questions, please feel free to contact the Community Development Department at 630-620-5750.”—JAC

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It has been over 700 days since we have had a budget and the amount of debt that the state has accrued because of unpaid bills is staggering.  Everyone we have sent to Springfield—every state rep, state senator and our governor—have failed us.  There was a small handful who appeared to be trying, but they didn't try hard enough. The rest just pointed fingers for political points, and we are stuck with the mess. Not a single person sitting in Springfield now will ever get my vote again. For those who might be considering a run for office, throw your hat into the ring. I will consider candidates from either party. But know that what I want to hear from you is what you consider to be the other party's best points, and how you are going to incorporate those points into your voting.  Extra consideration will be given to those who can show a history of resourcefulness and compromise.

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Many thanks to the VFW, Steuerle Funeral Home and all who worked on the Villa Park Memorial Day observance at Cortesi Park. The songs by the Willowbrook choir were particularly inspiring. I think Villa Park can be proud.

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Villa Park calling. What's going on with the Village of Villa Park Public Works Department regarding pothole repairs? On May 1, 8 and 15 I called the public works department reporting several potholes on South Michigan Avenue from Madison to Jackson. I was told that pothole repairs are done on Fridays. To date, no repairs have been done. On the 15th I was told that someone from public works would call me about the problem. So far, no call.

Your comments were sent to the Village of Villa Park. Deputy Director of Public Works Rich Salerno responded: "The potholes on South Michigan (Madison to Jackson) have been filled. We try to fill potholes on Fridays, but sometimes due to inclement weather and staff availability, they cannot be filled on that day."—JAC

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To the person who called SPEAK OUT last week, you seem to be uniformed about what's going on in District 44. First of all, I am very happy to see that the board is finely doing its job and letting go of Dr. Robey and Mr. Calderin. Any superintendent who is willing to spend over $2,000 on a treadmill desk is not thinking of the children. With his salary he should have bought his own gym membership and exercised on his own time like most people do We are about the education of our children. I was very sad to hear that they were compensated so well; that was a lot of money for such a short time. Hopefully the board will not make that same mistake again with the new superintendent. I am hoping that the board will now do some damage control. I am not a teacher and do not work in the district. I have lived in Lombard 30 years and raised four children here who attended public school and was very happy with their education and caring teachers. But things have changed. I now have grandchildren who attend District 44 and it is not the same. Now that we have a fresh start, let’s get our school district back on track; after all that's what makes Lombard a great place to raise a family and attractive to new home buyers.