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March 16, 2017


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To the young person who shared his or her views of our country in SPEAK OUT. Isn't it wonderful that we old people, we dinosaurs, fought for your freedoms; yes, even your freedom to be abusive by calling us names and wishing us an early demise. I have another word you can add to your extensive vocabulary. It’s assimilate, which is what my grandparents did when they immigrated here legally via Ellis Island. They were grateful to absorb their new culture, which in turn taught me to be accepting and generous of others; therefore this dinosaur forgives you for your lack of maturity.

 

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I am calling in regard to reverse mortgages. Seniors, be very, very careful. They have suave movie stars telling you how great they are. They say you can keep your house until you leave your house. They don't say you can keep your house until you die. Leave your house: What does that mean?

 

Here's how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains it:

"An HECM reverse mortgage loan must be paid off completely when the last surviving borrower permanently moves out of the home. Any situation in which you’ve lived someplace else – including a nursing home or assisted living – for more than 12 months counts as a “permanent move.” A stay in a nursing home or assisted living for less than 12 months does not affect your reverse mortgage or your home – you can keep your home during your stay, and come back to it afterwards.

"So what does this mean in practice? It’s a bit tricky. Use this list to look up your situation:

"If you are the only borrower on the HECM reverse mortgage and:

• You live alone, your loan will need to be paid off if you move to a nursing home or assisted living for more than 12 months. This will usually mean selling your home to pay off the loan.

• You live with a spouse or partner, your loan must be paid off if you move to a nursing home or assisted living for more than 12 months.

Warning: This will usually mean selling your home, and your spouse or partner will most likely have to move.

• You live with children, other relatives or unrelated roommates, your loan must be paid off.

Warning: This will probably require selling your home, and your children, relatives or roommates will most likely have to move."

Visit www.consumerfinance.gov for more information on reverse mortgages.—JAC

 

I have a 9-year-old granddaughter who comes home from school afraid for her friends that they or their parents might be taken away. She comes home upset and talks about it for quite awhile. Our family has agreed not to talk about President Trump in front of her. This is a very sad commentary about the way things are going in our country. We need leaders we can be proud of.

 

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I am the one who said in SPEAK OUT we should give Trump a break. He's been in office less than two months. Please don't indicate Obama's accomplishments. Obama may be a gentleman, I really don't know. I do know he almost ruined this country. He's had scandal after scandal; IRS, Benghazi and the list goes on. Race relations are the worst they've ever been. Illegal immigration is rampant. The list of non-accomplishments is too long for SPEAK OUT. Evaluate what the person accomplishes to make our country great, not to which party he or she belongs. Give Trump a break. See what he can do. If he fails, throw him out.

 

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Thank you, Lombard police. I see people speed past me on Main Street every day while I drive the speed limit. I tell myself, "Let that person get the speeding ticket." I also ask myself, "Where are the police when you need one?" Well, today I got an answer. A driver was not only on my bumper but changed lanes and sped up obviously over the speed limit then ended up back in my lane only to slow down and make a turn. Lo and behold, there was an officer nearby who saw this and apparently went after the driver. Keep it up, Lombard police. If this driver was in so much of a hurry to get to his or her destination, I guess speeding to get there backfired. And, riding my bumper is not going to make me go any faster.

 

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Where can we get signs to say NO to the library issue?  It is going to cost us so much and we only need to fix it - not make it larger.

 

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This is a dinosaur calling. The vitriol and violence coming out—wishing us to die off, as an example—from the far left is like nothing I have ever witnessed in my lifetime; not even the Tea Party carried on like this. You don't seem capable of having a real debate about the issues. It's as if you can't make your voices heard, so instead use mass protests, harsh rhetoric and other measures that only serve to distract from any message you are trying to get across. I guess it makes sense that it would be easier for people who disagree with you to die off—and you wrongly assume we are all old—so you can form your own oligarchy.

 

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The Plum Library should not spend money to buy land for a new library. They don't have the vision or wisdom to make a land swap with the park district, which would save the taxpayers two million dollars in storage and a temporary library. They should spend some money on a roof and new heating and cooling at the current library and then lower the tax rate to a more realistic number and not burden the taxpayers. And the people who voted for the permanent tax rate apparently did not do so thinking a new library has to be built where the current library is located. We all expect the library board to spend our money wisely and not waste it. Do what is the most cost effective for the residents paying the bill.  Maybe the current incumbents on the board should get voted out in April?

 

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Remember the food bank at the Methodist Church is open on Saturday, March 18, and the third Saturday of every month now. It is run by First Church of Lombard on these days.

 

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Was reading in the Trib that Peter Roskam won't be having anymore in-person town hall meetings because he "didn't run for office to be ringleader of that kind of circus." I realize that as a six-term congressman and as the tax policy chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee he believes he should only have to participate in telephonic town halls in which he gets to pick the questions that he answers, but he needs to remember that he is a public servant and that he works for his constituents. If he won't be responsive to his district, we need to find a new representative.

 

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The other day after high winds had blown over a dead tree onto the street, I called Lombard Public Works and before we had even returned home from our walk, there was a crew out sawing up the tree. Thank you very much to Lombard Public Works for their fast response.

 

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I am a Lombardian and I am very disappointed in a business in town that is flying an American flag that is dirty and ripped up and just hanging on the pole. I think it's a disgrace. Thank you.

 

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To the person who didn't get the tongue-in-cheek expression of more illegals than Americans, look it up and then thank the dinosaurs who had to work full time, with no entitlements, to build this country for you. I'm guessing you're one of the people picking up your entitlements and then protesting in the streets all day.

 

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$10,000? $10,000 to the Glenbard East Booster Club so they can sell alcohol to raise funds for sports. This is crazy. This is silly.

 

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Hi, this is Lombard. I just want to let you know that if you want to try a really good sandwich, go to Bricks and get the Kahuna Tuna on French bread. It is amazing. You won't regret it.

 

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I would like to respond to the comment that someone put in about the American Indians being the only true Americans. This is not a true statement. The American Indians migrated from Russia to Alaska and migrated down south through Canada and the United States and South America. They didn't just grow out of the desert in Arizona. They didn't just come out of the dirt. They migrated. They are also immigrants, so the person who put that in there, that is not a true statement. I have the utmost respect for American Indians, but let it be known that the American Indians are also immigrants.

 

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A person commented in SPEAK OUT about being terrified of Trump, who was elected by Republicans. I voted for Trump, but I am not a Republican. I was terrified, too. I was terrified of our representation in Washington; the House of Representatives and the Senate who do nothing but squabble about party politics while our country burns. That had to stop. The stopper to all the nonsense was Donald Trump.

 

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Hello, I'm a Lombardian and I have a daughter who goes to Glenbard East. She was telling me that some students decided to self-publish a political newspaper called the Glenbard Underground. I read a copy and oh my word, it was very well written, very well thought out. I really would like to congratulate these students for thinking for themselves and for rebelling when it's time to rebel. So, really, good job, guys. Keep up the good fight. Thank you, goodbye.


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