Orland voters to decide who has power between mayor and village manager
By Jeff Vorva
There is no mayoral election going on in Orland Park this year but this has the feel of mayoral elections from the recent past.
Keith Pekau’s foes are coming out in full force this year, comparing him to Lori Lightfoot and Vladimir Putin, which he doesn’t appreciate, by the way.
At issue?
On the surface, a seemingly tame question that isn’t going to cost residents a dime.
But in some circles, it’s controversial.
The question on Tuesday’s ballot reads “Shall the Village of Orland Park retain the managerial form of government?”
Pekau and the board of trustees are not allowed to lobby residents on how to vote on this issue, but all of the data and facts supplied by them are a strong indication they would prefer a “no” vote.
There is a group of folks who want, “yes” to win. Former Orland Park Assistant Karie Friling helped create an informational meeting in early March at the Orland Park Library and brought in Jason Grant, the director of advocacy for the International City/County Management Association to speak.
Weeks later, in the same room, Pekau and Village Clerk Patrick O’Sullivan had their say.
So, what’s at stake, here?
A “no” vote means the current government can shift to giving the mayor and board the final say in many key decisions that they do not have now. The village adopted a managerial form of government in 1983 through a referendum.
A “yes” vote means the village government will remain as is and the village manager has the final say in those issues. However, if the board deems the village manager is not performing the job adequately, he or she can be fired,
“Our current form of government, the village manager hires everyone,” Pekau said at the informational meeting. “That includes all department heads, all officers, the attorney and the treasurer. Once they are hired, they basically have no approval requirement from the board.”
Pekau and board members have gone on record multiple times saying that their relationship with current Village Manager George Koczwara is strong and this does not reflect on his performance.
Interestingly, at the “yes” informational meeting, Grant laid out the facts and didn’t hit hard against the “no” positions. He saw good in the “no” proposal, but he thought the facts showed the “yes” vote was
3 Comments
Local News
Capacity crowd speaks out against Evergreen Park dispensary
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Additional chairs had to be brought out to seat an overflow crowd of Evergreen Park residents who attended a meeting April 15 regarding a proposed cannabis dispensary for the village. And many who were in attendance voiced their opposition to having a dispensary in Evergreen Park. Most of the people cited…
Countryside puts dog park on hold, will require leashes in two parks
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The city of Countryside has put on hold building a dog park, but canines and their owners are still in store for a treat. The city council has unanimously approved a plan to permit dogs in City Park and Countryside Park this year. Previously, they were not allowed in the…
Bridgeview approves auto repair shop
Spread the loveMoves up time for May 1 village board meeting By Steve Metsch Bridgeview is getting a new automotive repair shop. The village board at its April 17 matinee meeting approved a special use permit that will allow a repair shop at 9010 S. Beloit Ave. There was no discussion among trustees. The board…
Summit Fire Department blood drive draws a crowd
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan The Summit Fire Department, along with the Village of Summit, and the Argo Summit Lions Club held a blood drive this past Saturday, and it drew a crowd that even impressed the American Red Cross. It took place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with non-stop donors walking through the…
Hodgkins toasts village businesses
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan Hodgkins Mayor Ernest Millsap and the Board of Trustees celebrated the village’s businesses at its annual Business Appreciation Breakfast on April 10. Over 100 people gathered at the Hodgkins Administration Center for a hearty breakfast hosted by the village. Representatives from many businesses that are located in or that work…
Pickleball courts coming to Palos Park
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva There will finally be outdoor pickleball in Palos Park. In a process that went longer than anticipated, the Palos Park Village Council was able give the green light to get a pickleball project started on the Village Green. The council voted April 8 to award the contract to U.S. Tennis…
First Secure Bank to host American Eagle gold coin sale
Spread the loveFrom staff reports First Secure Bank & Trust of Palos Hills announced its annual May sale of 1-ounce and ¼-ounce American Eagle Gold Coins, produced by the U.S. Mint, will take place from 10 a.m.to noon on Saturdays, May 4, May 11, May 18 and May 25. The sale will take place at…
Obituaries April 25, 2024
Spread the loveJOSEPH C. BURDA Joseph C. Burda, age 81, passed away March 28. Loving father of Amy Burda and Joseph Burda; dearest grandfather of Ryan Wenk and Lillianah Burda; cherished son of the late Mary (nee Breyer) and the late Joseph M. Burda; dear brother of Joan (Dan) Gale and Anna Hovey. Also survived…
Donate teddy bears to our local police
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Have you ever seen the 1955 movie The Night of the Hunter? The children in this movie show such bravery and acceptance in what life has thrown at them. They have to deal with unimaginable events and sadness. …
Boy Scouts collecting tattered flags for disposal
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Goodbye April, hello May. Our American Flag, the symbol of our country, should always be treated with respect. But after bearing Chicago’s brutal winters and hot blazing summers along with being in the…
Neighbors
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Lawmakers pitch sweeping changes to energy industry and Chicagoland transit system
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to the state’s energy industry and a massive increase in state oversight of Chicagoland’s transit system – which faces a projected $730 million budget shortfall. Advocates for the policy platform, which is broken up into…
Democrats flex muscle to kick off final month of session as revenues remain on track
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With about three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring legislative session, supermajority Democrats showed their strength this week as fiscal forecasters noted state revenues remain on track. April is typically a make-or-break month for state coffers, as income…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
I feel that this referendum was never presented to the citizens of Orland Park before it was placed on the ballot. It seems to be an underhanded decision to sidestep the voice of the people of Orland Park.
*****Orland Park mayor Keith Pekau is again exhibiting his trademark combination of ignorance and animus in his campaign to bring the village’s administration under his political control.
*****Under OP’s current managerial government, a neutral, professional village manager is the chief administrative officer, with duties designed to keep politics out of administrative decisions. The trustee-village form, which the mayor wants OP to become, makes the mayor the de facto chief administrator, guaranteeing political decision making.
*****At their January meeting the trustees with no fanfare passed an ordinance for a referendum to dump managerial government, replacing it with the trustee-village form. Pekau and his tame trustees passed the ordinance in minutes, with the mayor extemporizing on his personal grievances with the village manager’s authority, and each trustee echoing the mayor’s complaints.
*****There was no evaluation report, no consultation with experts, no opportunity for community comments, and no credible discussion of the need for change.
*****The mayor and trustees are campaigning hard. They present only one side of the issue, while protesting that they’re neutral. About half of what they say has objectively been shown to be dead wrong, but they persist in spouting the same untruths.
*****Here’s a poem written by ChatGPT-4 after reading this letter: “With ignorance and animus, they tread/ As the mayor’s power hunger is fed/ Pekau and trustees, just one side/
Persist in untruths, far and wide.”
I think a no vote is the only vote. Let the mayor and the board make the decisions and if the people in the village don’t like how things are going we can vote them out. We don’t want unelected officials making decisions whether we like them or not. I feel that they might be on the taxpayers payroll but who else’s payroll.