I have one question to ask everyone in Lombard. How is it possible to pass a referendum for a new library without construction blueprints, competitive bids, and permission from the park district to build a $23 million library? All they had were some ideas. Think about this. Would you ever start construction on a house without knowing what the costs are or even a lot to build on? This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. Now you have the park district and the library board fighting over the air rights. The Village of Lombard is now the laughing stock of DuPage County. This debacle has cost me a property tax increase of over $1,200/year on my business and $280 on my house. I want my money back. I wonder what this cost businesses like Yorktown Mall or a small location like McDonalds. By the way, businesses do not get a right to vote on referendums. How do we as residents restructure a new referendum? The new referendum would remodel the current one. I bet for $10 million we could make the current library pretty sweet. There is no reason we can't do this. The residents of Lombard are angry.

Your comments were forwarded to Helen Plum Library officials, who responded: "The  [Plum] Library Board did not see it as fiscally responsible to invest funds in detailed construction plans prior to passing a referendum for a tax increase to provide revenue needed to build the new facility. The [Lombard] Park District Board communicated to us in April 2016 that they deemed any agreements prior to referendum was a potential violation of the Illinois Election Code and declined to meet with the Library Board about these issues at that time. Their concern was that any communications could be deemed as a political endorsement for or against a referendum. Since the successful passage of the November 2016 referendum, a number of proposals with designs we felt were best suited for the new library were presented to the park district. We recently presented a proposal to the Lombard Park District that does not encroach on the park's air rights and will be built only within the library’s property. The current plan will provide the Lombard community with a brand new 21st century-ready library building with all of the new features and spaces included in our initial proposal."—JAC

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Hmmm. Isn't the purpose of a political cartoon to be politically slanted?

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Please don't build the Li-Lack-ia Library in Lilacia Park.

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Hello SPEAK OUT. The library is a lot more than books. This past week I checked out some music CDs and saved a few favorite songs to my computer. I also scanned some insurance documents to a PDF and emailed them to myself.  Both were done for free—no iTunes or Office Max fees. If you haven't been in a while, stop by the library and see what they offer.

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I'm confused. District 44 seeks to shine the spotlight on historical excellence. But they only list Glenn Westlake Middle School. What happened to the 25 years of the Lombard Junior High on Madison? Does that mean those of us who graduated in that class mean nothing, are no good? I'm confused. Thank you.

Your comment was forwarded to District 44 officials, who responded: "District 44 meant no disrespect in not including Lombard Junior High in addition to Glenn Westlake Middle School in our alumni search. We are very much interested in ALL alumni from District 44. We have been contacted by several inquiring after the notification was sent out if we would also be including Lombard Junior High and have very much included them.  We apologize for any confusion."—JAC

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As a longtime resident of Hunter Street in Lombard, I must say we had the most polite young people come to the door on Halloween. I gave out 140 snack size candies and even the youngest said "Happy Halloween," "thank you" and "have a nice Halloween." Parents, guardians and teachers, you did a great job of helping to raise wonderful young ones. Thank you, thank you. You are appreciated and we are grateful.

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I recently joined a senior strength training class held at the Lombard Common Park. Tremendous instructor; while giving us our instructions, she is doing all the exercises, no breaks, and I am amazed what a great class. I see and feel positive results from attending. Thanks, Lombard Park District. You certainly have a great instructor.

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To the folks who think it would be a good idea to have penny slots and video poker arcades in Lombard, why don't we add a few other tax-paying businesses, such as tattoo parlors and gentlemen's clubs? We could have bars open until 4 a.m., then re-open at 6 a.m. Re-zone the Mr. Z and DuPage Theatre properties for trailer parks; maybe the county would allow that for the Ken-Loch property, too. For a small permit fee, residents could have RVs, ATVs and boats parked on their driveways all year long, and have wheel-less cars on cinder blocks on their front lawns. That would be a fine addition to front-lawn barbecue pits. The new library could add a few much-needed gas pumps next to the expanded handicapped parking spaces. Gosh, the possibilities are endless.

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I'm calling in response to the SPEAK OUT regarding CNN being played on Willowbrook High School's TVs. Willowbrook gave a lengthy response; however they neglected to answer the question. I'd like to give Willowbrook another chance to prove their integrity and actually give us an answer. Why did the TV show CNN, not FOX News, MSNBC, BBC News or even Al Jazeera?

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The Oct. 19 "news article" detailing the arrest of former state Rep. Sandra Pihos reads like a campaign press release. Over half the article has nothing to do with the alleged crime of theft. Listing the former legislator's accomplishments does not negate the fact of the arrest.

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I'm a Lombardian and I visit the Helen Plum Library quite a bit. I had a chance to go to the Elmhurst Library and I was very impressed, obviously. We need to get moving on our library to increase our capabilities with the neighborhood. Thank you.

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I'm calling regarding Willowbrook’s response to complaints about having CNN on in the school. I think it's very biased to have any news channel on in these divided times. They need to change that to PBS or something that is neutral. I would ask all District 88 parents and students to contact Willowbrook and their apparent attempt to indoctrinate children to one political view. Thank you.

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To the two readers who complained about W flags being posted after the baseball season is over, all I can say is, if that's the biggest problem in your life, you are very lucky, people. Lighten up.

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Last week a parent called in and expressed concern that Willowbrook had all the monitors at the high school turned to CNN. The school administration provided a political statement that never answered why. The students will get enough of just one opinion in college. It should not start in high school.

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Hello, SPEAK OUT. I think those still flying the W flag are for a new meaning. Loser. That's W-o-o-z-e-r.

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Hi, Lombard calling. I think we missed the big story on this one. Glenbard East has their first tennis championship. We can't put that on the front cover, as opposed to a Christmas bazaar that happens every year? In tennis terms, that's a double fault.

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I just got my new health care renewal from Blue Cross. It only went up from $1,300 to $1,900 per month for my wife and myself in our late 50s. Thanks, Obama. You really got me, didn't you? And Deb Conroy, look out next election. You're out. You can go live with Madigan.

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I read in the DuPage Policy Journal that the Lombard Fire Department responded to 830 fire calls in 2016. A total of 716 of these calls, or 86 percent, were false alarms. Driving with lights and sirens and speeding through red lights on our streets is dangerous. What is the fire department doing to prevent false alarms and educate people to prevent some of the 716 calls?

Your question was forwarded to the Village of Lombard for a response, which is as follows: "In 2016 the Lombard Fire Department actually responded to 6,669 emergency incidents, including 5,004 EMS runs and 1,695 fire runs. Of those 6,669 calls, 497 were categorized as “false alarms.” It’s important to remember that the term “false alarm” is defined as an inadvertent fire alarm system activation and is possible for a number of reasons including: phone line problems, power outages, system malfunctions or false calls. A small amount of “false alarms” are due to malicious intent. For example, in 2015, out of 521 false alarms, only eight calls were determined to be mischievous in nature. The fire department works with our businesses and property owners to ensure that their fire protection systems are working correctly and address false activations. Visit www.villageoflombard.org/fire to view the Fire Department’s Annual Reports and feel free to call the village at 630-620-5718 with any other questions you may have."—JAC

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Trump and the GOP’s tax reform proposal has been greeted with the predictable “it’s a tax cut for the rich” and “it will blow a hole in the deficit and debt” rhetoric from Democrats. When was the last time a Congress controlled by Democrats or a Democratic president, for that matter, ever proposed tax cuts of any kind while in office? Put the “Jeopardy” theme on in the background while you shills on the left look that up. Democrats really cared about running up the deficit and debt when they controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010 and The Messiah, Barack Obama, was president. They gave us Obamacare and that nearly trillion dollar “economic stimulus package” while the national debt doubled during Obama’s eight years as president.

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Hello, Peter Breen. I just got your newsletter in the mail and I'm confused. I thought you said that you weren't going to have anything to do with the governor anymore, yet I see your picture in here with him at a bill signing, so I'm confused. Could you explain that?

Your inquiry was sent to Rep. Peter Breen, who responded: "I invited the governor to sign 'Charlie's Law' at the home of one of our fellow Lombardians, Charlie Drury, who has struggled with a childhood disorder that involves inflammation of the brain, leading to very severe side effects. Charlie's family had trouble getting insurance coverage for the recommended treatment for this disorder, and 'Charlie's Law' will ensure that treatment is covered. I was honored to help shepherd this bill through the General Assembly, over the objections of insurance companies. This is also the first bill that I've ever heard of being signed by the governor at a home in Lombard. Charlie and kids like him are my #1 priority. Whatever our disagreements on other issues, I'll work with any governor to get bills like this signed into law."—JAC