And with elections in mind, remember if you want to have a chance to vote on the planned $21 million bond issue for a rental sports complex being pushed by Mayor Reaves and the Lemont Village Board, you need to sign the petition being circulated around town. If you want to sign or pass a petition, call me at 630-257-9342. If we can’t get enough signatures, we go into debt $21,000,000 next month.

Jim, Thank you for stepping forward to organize the petition signing. I've already signed. Any other tax paying Lemont Citizen who feels that he or she has a right to have a say in what goes on in our town should sign this petition too. That is the best way to let the mayor and the town board know that this is our town and we deserve to be heard on major issues. Thanks to all citizens who care enough to stand up and be counted.

Mr. Ladas, I don't understand why a group of 14 people needs two different names, Citizens for Open Govt. and Let us Vote Campaign? If you add a 15 member can we expect a third name? Does your clubhouse only hold 7 people max therefore requiring you to have the two different group names?

Also the Citizens for Open Government sounds very much like it is affiliated with ITT Kent law school which is the law school that Mrs. Hughes has been using free of charge for her three failed lawsuits brought against our school district, is there a connection there?

Also with regard to Mrs. Hughes and Hank Olenick, you probably should have done a little checking before naming them your groups' spokespeoples. You would be hard pressed to find two less respected people in the Village, I can only think of one less respected person and I don't believe she lives in the Village (and she is probably too busy videotaping anyway). If you fall short of your signature goal you can thank Hughes and Olenick because there are tons of people in the Village who don't want to be connected with anything either of these two people are affiliated with.

Also Mr. Ladas you have been quoted as saying you have a million questions about this project. Have you or anyone in the group of 14 contacted any of the principals who are involved with this to get some of those million questions answered? If so can you let us know what responses you received?

"Citizen of Lemont" Do you really think anyone is going to take you seriously, hiding behind a false name ? I consider your statement to be slanderous . The vast outpouring of thanks, appreciation and signatures in hand I think prove you wrong. What is it about giving citizens the right to vote on such a large undertaking that rubs you the wrong way? Do you stand to make a profit on the construction of this facility whether it is successful of not ? If you need to make your thoughts heard from behind a curtain, I think anyone reading this should consider the source and it your case the source is ....nobody.

Paul Chialdikas, Will you be running under your real name of one of your many aliases?

Mr. Ladas and his "two organizations" have been spouting misstatements about the Village going into debt in March. Apparently, they don't know anything about bonds or have their facts straight.

Bonds are long-term debt with constraints. Once the bonds in their entirety are sold, they become a liability to the village, but only on paper. The debt becomes real when the village cannot meet their obligation when the maturity payment is due. Bond payments are done bi-annually.

Bonds have a common maturity rate of 10 years. That means there will be twenty payments made with the 20th being the maturity payment. Bonds are sold at a premium which means the interest rate will be prime plus. Maturity rates can vary according to the constraints, but 10 is the most common.

With prime being at a low, and property value plummetting, this is an opportunity to seize the day and invest into this sports complex.

To put this on the ballot as a referendum, will cost the Village money. This smells like the work of a group of people who went after the school district. They were wrong about the property taxes taking effect immediately as they are with the bond issue. I say let the Village of Lemont do this so we can bring money into the village not not wasting village money.

" I don't understand why a group of 14 people needs two different names, Citizens for Open Govt. and Let us Vote Campaign?" As someone who is apparently at the tip of the spear .....This is the FIRST time I am hearing either or these names. Call it whatever you want , what we REPRESENT is democracy and a chance to get the peoples voices heard.. Sign the petition and vote!