Lombard calling. Here’s a suggestion as to how our local high schools can take a step to improve security for our students. Get rid of an administrator or two, and put the money saved from those salaries toward security measures. As an example, at Glenbard East there are four assistant principals and four deans of students. How many assistant principals and deans of students do they really need, for God’s sake? I’m sure if the school boards at these high schools looked hard enough, they could find an administrator or two who really don’t need to be on the payroll.

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DuPage County voters who live within the 42nd state representative Republican primary race including Amy Grant and Burt Minor, need to know that a lot of smoke is being blown by certain political operatives to apparently force Minor to drop out of the race. Chief among them is state Rep. Peter Breen, who is supporting her. They seemingly set upon a plan that has worked well throughout Grant's political career. No opposition is a win. She apparently learned that when she first ran for county board by reportedly receiving information from Congressman Peter Roskam that the incumbent in that office was not going to run just a short time before a petition deadline ended. It was slick, it worked, giving her the win. With her term ending and knowing there would be challengers she decided to not run again. She tried to slide into a state rep's candidacy but challengers also got on. Minor was her biggest threat. Breen, accused by Minor of organizing a smear campaign against him, has said he has resolved himself to ensure that Minor would not serve on the House Republican Caucus.

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While the 42nd District does not include Lombard, SPEAK OUT contacted Rep. Peter Breen, of the 48th District, for a comment: "Burt Minor is the GOP Winfield Township chairman who repeatedly used the "N-word" in an October 2017 meeting with Erika Harold-a former Miss America, a Harvard law grad, and the leading Republican candidate for Attorney General. Minor even went so far as to ask Ms. Harold (who is unmarried) whether she is a "lesbo." Erika and her assistant, who was also present, immediately reported Minor's conduct to state GOP officials.

“The vile racial epithets and offensive questioning employed by Mr. Minor have no place in modern life, much less in the Republican Party. When Minor later decided to run for state representative, he refused numerous private entreaties by leaders in the GOP, including me, to get out of the race. As Republican Floor Leader, I wasn't going to sweep his conduct under the rug, much less welcome someone like him into our House GOP caucus, so I went public.

“Folks who've watched my career in public life know that I don't put up with bad actors, whether in my own political party or the other. The sort of vile conduct engaged in by Minor, and those like him, won't be tolerated on my watch.”—JAC

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In regard to the very, very sad shooting in Florida, we're back to doing the same thing again; blaming the people who have mental disabilities. It's all their fault because this young man had a gun, only 19 years old and purchased a gun. You can try to blame people who have mental disabilities and if you bother to really even check, the amount of shootings that have been caused by people with mental disabilities is very, very, very low. It's a shame that people who have guns cannot understand that I have no problem with anybody having a gun, but I have no problem applying for a driver's license, taking a physical for a health plan; these are things that you do. It's not the people, it's the fact that are so many guns out there. It's the guns.

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Hi. I'm calling about a call in SPEAK OUT regarding Lufkin Pool in Villa Park. I'm just calling to correct a little misinformation that was in this call. It references Oak Park and states that they have only one public pool. Actually there two public pools and they have both been there for at least 50 years, so I just wanted to set that straight and hopefully Villa Park will be able to save their second pool. Thank you, bye bye.

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Hi, Lombard calling. I wonder if the police still enforce the no-parking rules. I get home at 3 a.m. and I see the same cars parked on a street every night. I doubt if they're calling in every night, so I'm just wondering why they don't enforce parking laws. It's mind-boggling. Thanks.

According to Lombard officials, “A Lombard Village Ordinance states that street parking is illegal between the hours of 2-5 a.m. This ordinance is commonly enforced by the Lombard Police Department. In 2017, Lombard Police issued 2,239 tickets related to overnight street parking. Residents may request approval of overnight street parking for up to four nights per month. If you feel that there is an issue regarding overnight street parking in a specific area, please call 9-1-1 in order to provide dispatch with a location at the time of occurrence.”—JAC

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Sens. Durbin and Duckworth, a father made an urgent plea to Congress to protect our schools. A father was angry, rightfully so, for you see he lost his daughter in the Florida shooting. He will not see her graduate, he will not see her married, he will not see his future grandchildren. The father knew that gun control is not the issue in protecting our schools. What does Congress do? It does what they often nowadays do: nothing. You and your fellow legislators ignore the grieving father's plea to protect our schools.

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Hello, SPEAK OUT, is this the year that the Ken Loch property finally gets construction started? Thank you.

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Hello, this is Lombard calling. I'm a regular commuter on the train. I'd like to know who is responsible for monitoring or patrolling the Lombard Metra Station. Recently a man was sleeping on the bench with an open tall boy and an empty vodka pint. A mom came to the platform with her young son to meet the dad but left when she saw him there. The topper was when he got up and urinated on the handicap ramp. I'm not unsympathetic for someone who's down on his or her luck, but there must be somewhere else for them to go. Thank you.

Your inquiry was forwarded to the Village of Lombard. The reply is as follows: “The Lombard Police Department works closely with Metra to help ensure that their station is safe. Lombard Police perform directed patrol at the Metra Train Station on a regular basis, including a foot patrol of the building two times per day; however, the exact time of the patrols may vary from day to day due to other things happening in town. As there is not an officer posted at the train station at all times, it’s important to remember that residents should call 9-1-1 when they see something that requires police action, at the time that it is occurring so an officer can be dispatched to the scene. This is true for any situation. Some residents question when they should only dial 9-1-1. It is a misconception to think that you should only call 9-1-1 when in immediate danger or experiencing harm. This is not the case. Residents should call 9-1-1 when they observe situations in which public safety could be threatened or when they feel unsafe due to others. Please visit villageoflombard.org/police for other examples when to call 9-1-1 and call the Lombard Police Department with any questions at 630-873-4400.”—JAC

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Lombard calling. Prayers for all those affected by the recent school shootings. It's sickening. I get tears in my eyes. Yeah, something does need to be done; however, we've always had guns in this country. In fact, years ago basically every household of my forefathers, their neighbors, Chicago area, America in general had a gun in their house. What changed? Did the bullets get harder over the years and more dangerous? No. Something changed with society. No. 1, we have gun laws that aren't being enforced now. And yes, one group of people is judges, namely letting them out of prison, letting them out early to let them do their deeds again. Look at what Cook County Jail is doing; letting out gun offenders. No, it's not the guns that legal people own. I'm a police officer. It's a people issue.

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I turned 71 this month. This did not happen until Donald Trump was elected president. I blame Donald Trump for getting old.

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It is not good to have either party, Republican or Democrat, in power for too long because it corrupts and they get greedy. If you don't think so, just look at Illinois. We're one of the five worst states in the country and we have more people leaving than coming. This is because of the corruption of the Democrat Party who has been in power for many, many years. Even though we've had Republican governors it would still be the same if you had Republicans in office forever. You need to change every so often or this is what you get.

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Hi. This is for the people who are complaining about the postal carriers, what you need to do is call the Lombard postmaster. Or, send a letter to him or her that you do not want your mail carrier to walk on your grass. You need to do that to eliminate any carrier or anyone walking on your grass.

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I live in a Lombard neighborhood that many of the residents have lawn care services. Please, can you all get together and hire the same lawn care company? Day after day, different lawn care companies come and make a terrible loud noise. Maybe if they all had the same company they would give a discount and it would all be done in one day. We need a break from all that noise.

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In regard to a call in last week's paper regarding the Rules of the Road book at the library, first of all, why is the DMV giving the driving rules in Spanish? This is America. We speak English here. Shame on the DMV and Jesse White.

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Hi. This is Lombard. Regarding the "Out and About" column in the March 8 Lombardian entitled "School districts say student safety is highest priority," after wading through all the educational-ese, the cliched statements of these superintendents, the bottom line is the students are still not protected. They still are soft targets and they're very vulnerable. None of these schools has a metal detector or an X-ray machine where backpacks, large purses, briefcases and so on can be placed in a moving belt and scrutinized. Also, none mentioned armed security personnel in the buildings. The educational establishment in DuPage instead focuses on ensuring a safe, welcoming environment, which is all well and good but is useless unless backed up by strong security. These gun-free zones that these superintendents and others seem to promote, they're playing with our children's lives. Their reluctance to promote security measures is frightening to say the least or are they just naive enough and believe it can't happen here? Thank you.

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Hello. With all the talk about Russian cyber meddling in our elections, Donald Trump seems to be oblivious, so it's up to us, the voters, to protect our vote. I suggest everyone watch a video demonstration that you can find online by googling the words "Princeton voting demo." This will open your eyes to how easily someone can interfere with our elections. What can we as American citizens do to protect our elections and our democracy? Make sure your vote leaves a paper trail. One: Vote on Election Day and use a paper ballot. Two: If you cannot vote on Election Day, vote by mail. Three: If you vote early and must use an electronic voting machine, be sure to check the tape before ejecting the card to make sure the machine is recording your vote in the way you intended. Thank you.

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Our nation was in a period of deep decline before Trump came on the scene. The administrations of Clinton, Bush and Obama were devastating for our country. Trump rejuvenated the nation. Some Republicans and most Democrats hate Trump. I'm not talking about citizens but those in the halls of Congress. Many of those in Congress highlight and concentrate on what divides our country, not what mends our country. I voted for Trump and am proud of it. The USA needed a man like him, not another politician.