That was a heck of a protest at Rep. Roskam's fundraiser in Downers Grove. Police estimate 400 people showed up in the wet cold; and I don't blame them. In its current version, Roskam's "tax cut" bill would eliminate all or part of deductions for mortgages, property tax, state tax, medical expenses, student loans and school supplies bought by teachers for their classes. The tax cut bill would be a tax hike bill for a lot of households in this town. So who really is getting the tax cuts?

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To the person who said I called the people who voted for Trump boneheads, well, I'm sorry. I still feel that way. Has he affected my everyday life? Yes, he has. He has caused turmoil that's beyond belief being president of the United States. What deepens and saddens me is what he has done to the United States. And with his appearance on the world stage, he has made a buffoon of himself. He has no idea what he's doing. He can't talk right. He is the most un-presidential person we have ever had. He tweets like a 2-year-old. He blames everybody for everything that's wrong but himself, whether you want to accept it or not. You're right. It hasn't been proven, but the Russians I believe played a very big part in his election.

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For all you sports fans who don't like it because some people are flying the white W flag for the Cubs; hey, nobody's asking you to look at it. Nobody's asking you to drive by and look at it. As long as it's not hurting anybody, let them fly it. What do you care? You either must be a Sox fan or just a nut case who hasn't got anything better to do, so just let it be, will you? Just let it be. If you're a Sox fan, just keep one thing in mind — the Cubs never threw a World Series the way the White Sox did in 1919.

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I read the Plum Library's Gazette publication, and I must say the director's “From the Desk” article seems like a spin on the so-called progress of the new library. I am angry that so much time has been spent on designing, refining, going back to the drawing board, at our expense, to all who have been paid to put these plans together. There are more questions than answers, but mostly I feel duped that while the pre-referendum hype was that the increase in taxes was for a new library, the actual question on the ballot related to an operating rate increase. In other words, they can do whatever they want with that money. It appears as if the board threw things at the wall to see what would stick. And, the director says the project may end up costing more but the additional costs will come out of the operations budget. Guess where that money comes from to begin with? I truly am disappointed in those of you who voted to raise my taxes. If there is any way out of this, sign me up. And, can we get a vote of "no confidence" in the library board?

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Hi, SPEAK OUT, this is Lombard calling. I live in the Madison Meadow area and guess what? Another day with no mail delivery. This is getting ridiculous. Bye.

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I'm calling just to make people aware if they receive an envelope in the mail that says U.S. Census Bureau with a box, "Your response is required by law." This is a scam. It's also called the American Community Survey. It refers you to fill out the information online and it does threaten that if you don't fill it out, they will come to your house. It is a scam. I did call the attorney general's office and confirmed that. I just wanted to give a heads up to other folks in case they received one. The next census is not due, I believe, until 2020. Thank you, bye.

The U.S. Census Bureau website and Chicago Regional Office indicate the American Community Survey is not a scam. The following is taken from the bureau's website:

"The American Community Survey is a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Unlike the every-10-year census, this survey continues all year, every year. We randomly sample addresses in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Answers are collected to form up-to-date statistics used by many federal, state, tribal, and local leaders."

"The Census Bureau is legally bound to strict confidentiality requirements. Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone — not the IRS, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not with any other government agency."

After talking with three individuals at the regional Oak Brook location, it was learned that if the survey is not filled out, a census worker may, indeed, come to one's residence to follow up and "will ALWAYS have official Census ID."

Anyone with questions can call the Chicago Regional Office at 630-288-9200, or 800-865-6384. Visit https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/survey-is-legitimate.html for more information about the survey.—JAC

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This is another couple from Lombard wanting to thank the person who was praising our president, Donald Trump. My husband and I are right on the same page with you, and he is just doing a fabulous job. It's a shame other people do not appreciate and see what he's done. Thank you for your comment and we back you all the way. Bye, bye.

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This morning I was driving down Main Street toward St. Charles, and a jogger on the east-side sidewalk jogged in front of me diagonally, northeast to southwest, at the intersection of Main and Grove across to the west-side sidewalk, not even looking behind for oncoming traffic. Not from east to west across the north side of the intersection on Main then south across Grove, but literally in a diagonal. I have not seen that before, but thank goodness I was paying attention and that the person was wearing fairly light clothing. Bicyclists, walkers and joggers, you have rules of the road, too.

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A caller in last week’s issue commented that we should be paying attention to all the hard work Deb Conroy does. The caller’s statement falls somewhere between laughable and ridiculous. How much hard work does it take to vote for Mike Madigan as speaker and march lock-step with his agenda year in and year out? But I digress. Taking the caller’s advice, I did some research on Conroy. I looked up her voting record. She certainly does work hard supporting liberal positions, having received a 100 percent rating this year from Citizen Action Illinois, whose slogan on their website is “Leading the way in the fight for the progressive agenda.” That’s Deb Conroy. Hard at work for her constituents—at least her liberal constituents.

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To the caller who thinks our draft-dodging president is so patriotic—do you remember him saying that John McCain wasn't a hero, because he was captured? My family and I watched Vietnam on PBS recently (incredible miniseries, so many parallels to our current moment, everyone should watch), and it was breathtaking the bravery so many of our veterans displayed. To think that some old fool whose only skill is running his mouth is somehow a paragon of patriotism is ridiculous. What kind of idiot, upon being given one by a misguided veteran, says "I always wanted a Purple Heart!"? Nobody "wants" to be injured or die, but it's a price some of our veterans pay, one that the president cowardly avoided. After the dust-up with him telling a grieving widow her husband "knew what he signed up for," widows and families came forward to tell of the compassion they received from presidents Bush and Obama. Knowing there was nothing they could really say or do in that moment to take away those people's pain. Instead, our fragile, narcissistic president can never be wrong, and solves every problem perfectly. Grow up, everyone.