Members of Orland Park's Dance Company dance during Sunday's holiday parade. (Photos by Jeff Vorva)
Orland Park gets in the holiday spirit with parade and tree lighting
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau dons a Santa hat and hands out candy during the parade.
By Jeff Vorva
The Village of Orland Park’s lighting of the Christmas tree ceremony has been going on for decades, but its holiday parade just completed its sophomore run.
The second holiday parade kicked off the festivities on Sunday followed by Mayor Keith Pekau and a group of children pulling the switch to not only light the village’s Christmas tree, but a large group of lighted décor items displayed near Village Hall.
Santa Claus greets children and families at the Orland Park Civic Center on Sunday.
The Civic Center housed food, entertainment, items for purchase and a long line for families to visit Santa.
Thousands turned out for the event and the mayor enjoyed seeing that.
“The turnout was great,” he said. “The event keeps getting bigger and bigger and the parade was great. People enjoyed it. The rain held off.
“We have a great community and it shows when everyone comes out for these events.”
Some of the parade entrants were from Automedics Inc., Baird and Warner, Bobby’s UltiMUTT Dog Training, Calvary Church, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Catholic School, Carl Sandburg High School Chamber Singers, Carl Sandburg High School Marching Band, City Nation Studios/Dance Workshop, Cub Scouts Pack 372 Orland Park, European Wax Center, EXP Realty, Granite Mountain, Heights Cycle, Hobby Town, Jingle Johns, Miss National American Teen, Nicky V’s Food Truck, North American Beauty Pageant and Northwestern Medicine .
Also marching and walking in the parade were the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce, the Orland Park Children’s Theater, the Orland Park Fire Service Unit 614, the Orland Park Pioneers Football organization, the Orland Park Public Library, the Orland Park Recreation and Parks Department, Orland Park Special Recreation, Orland Park Sting Football Club, Orland School District 135 the Orland Township Highway Department, the Orland Youth Association, Ozinga Merry Mixer, Polish Folklore Dance Group Mali Hyrni, Boys Scouts of America Troop 318, Shine.FM 89.7, the Village of Orland Park Public Works , the Village of Orland Park Mini, Junior and Senior Dance Company and the Village of Orland Park officials.
Bringing up the rear of the parade was Santa himself.
Members of Orland Park’s village board pose after the lighting of the Christmas tree on Sunday.
Local News
New year, old challenges
Spread the loveBy Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 It’s a new year and a time for new beginnings. Many of us will be starting a new diet program. I plan to do this as soon as I’m done eating the remaining Christmas candy and cookies at my house. Wish me luck!…
Two ladies gone, but not forgotten
Spread the loveBy Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 Guessing you have already read the sad news about the passing of Mary Ellen St. Aubin. For those of you that didn’t know, she grew up right here in Chicago Lawn, on 63rd and Richmond, and…
Obituaries for Jan. 6, 2022
Spread the loveMacARTHUR ANTIGUA MacArthur Antigua, 79, of Palos Hills, passed away on December 25. He was the beloved husband of Flordevilla Galinato Antigua, loving father of MacArthur Antigua, and Lora Lee Banzali; Cherished grandfather of Meera Antigua, Leela Antigua, Livy Banzali, Faryn Banzali, Zayla Banzali; devoted son of the late Marcial, Sr. and Paciencia…
Stepson charged in Evergreen Park murder
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A 24-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the New Year’s Eve shooting of his stepfather in Evergreen Park. Brandon K. Kizer, 24, of the 8100 block of South Loomis in Chicago, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Young, 52, on the…
Richard A. Dolejs, owner of Dolejs Realty and Property Management dies
Spread the loveRichard A. “Dick” Dolejs, 81, of Burr Ridge, passed away suddenly on December 17. Mr. Dolejs was a well-known Realtor-property manager. He was born January 10, 1929 in Chicago to Andrew M. Dolejs and Marie Jungvirt. He attended Farragut High School, Millikin University, Northwestern and John Marshall Law School. He served in the…
Honored for service to business
Spread the loveFabis earns UBAM award By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway recently honored founding member Mary Fabis with a Lifetime Membership Award for Outstanding Service for her 35 years of work with the business organization she continues to serve as a board member. Fabis, now 92, has owned and operated Archer…
Fire and ice
Spread the love December was unseasonably dry and warm, but it was cold enough late in the month to form icicles on a Bedford Park Fire Department truck– even after it returned from a blaze that gutted a warehouse in the 6500 block of South Lavergne, just steps south of Clearing. The weather forecast for…
‘They made us look like fools’
Spread the loveParents furious over one-two stumble by CPS By Tim Hadac As Chicago Public Schools were set to re-open earlier this week, parents of CPS students were still fuming over what most seemed to see as a two-part stumble by district administrators. “We did exactly what they asked of us, and they made us…
Neighbors
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
