By Ray Hanania

If one thing binds Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison and Orland Park Trustee Cindy Katsenes together, it’s “the Big Lie.”

Morrison is distributing a fake “report” smearing Liz Gorman that his minions repeatedly tried to get published at reputable news sources. Gorman is the most qualified person to represent the 17th Cook County District and lead the Republican Party in Orland Park.

The report is a collection of lies, and Pekau and Morrison have repeatedly tried to get it published by a reputable source like the Patch, but the Patch keeps removing it.

Morrison just copied the false report attributed to the “Better Governance Association” (a fake group intended to sound like the Better Government Association) and print it with the Patch logo to mislead the public and has been texting and mailing it to voters in the 17th District.

Ray Hanania

Morrison falsely claims, “This fully verified & sourced report on Liz Gorman exposes who she really is.” It’s not. It has been debunked and removed by the Patch each time.

Not surprisingly, Morrison supporters are behind other anonymous and vicious robocalls and flyers attacking Gorman with the lies.

In contrast, robocalls and mailers critical of Morrison are verified and Gorman has openly identified herself as the source of those claims. That’s because they are true.

Morrison’s cable TV commercial is another example of The Big Lie strategy, which includes the whopper lie that Gorman supported an increase in the retail sales tax. Wow! How stupid does Morrison think voters are?

Everyone knows Gorman was the only Republican on the Cook County Board who led the repeal of the sales tax, even convincing Democrats who originally supported the tax hike to reverse their support.

The lies of the triumvirate of Pekau-Morrison-Katsenes are so outlandish and false it shows how consumed they are with Gorman.

Pekau is no different. Pekau barely won election as Orland Park mayor (by 138 votes). During five years in office, he has done nothing except pat himself on the back like he is Maverick from the fictional movie Top Gun.

Pekau’s sole act was to convince three businesses, already in Orland, with incentives to relocate to 151st and LaGrange Road, like it is some kind of economic boom.

Citing a report in Chicago Magazine that praises Orland Park’s natural location as being the best in the region, Pekau is claiming credit. Orland is the best community, and always has been — but long before Pekau stumbled into office. Highlights include Open Lands, homeowner stability, low taxes, and great schools.

But Pekau had nothing to do with any that. Dan McLaughlin, the former mayor, created the Open Lands project. The low taxes have to do with Gorman fighting to hold down sales taxes. Pekau has been attacking our great schools, seeking to control them.

Not cited are Pekau’s campaign signs littering the village; some placed illegally on village property, others on easements and at property lines as close to the roadways as possible.

There is one topic, however, Morrison and Pekau don’t want to talk about. Notice Morrison’s silence on the topic of Anthony Martin? Martin is the sex predator who worked for Morrison as his top gun.

I submitted FOIA requests to get records on Martin, the convicted sex predator who worked for Morrison Security and who Morrison defended with a letter to the judge, seeking leniency.

Pekau’s administration refused to release police reports on Martin, I’m sure, because when you read them, they make Morrison look horrible. But the Illinois Attorney General ordered Pekau to release them, so he released some.

I petitioned again to get all the sordid records, and the Illinois Attorney General sent an even tougher letter directing Pekau’s administration to release all documents.

Morrison’s strongest arguments are misleading claims (to the Chicago Sun-Times) that he called for Martin’s arrest and prosecution. But nowhere in any of the released court or police records are there any documents to support that self-serving claim.

Nothing to verify Morrison’s lie that he did anything to stop Martin, who was accused and later convicted of sexually harassing a 14-year-old Orland Park girl at a pool party that Morrison hosted at his Palos home for several employees, including the victim’s mother.

Read the sordid but authentic documents yourself at Hanania.com, a testament to Morrison’s failings.

These are not “People Over Politics.” They are “Politics Over People.” They will do anything to win including using “the Big Lie.”

Check out Ray Hanania’s columns and political podcasts at hanania.com.