Dodge, Orland Park For All sweep village elections

As he made his way around Bliss Banana Café moments after he declared victory Tuesday night, Jim Dodge was greeted by several people saying “congratulations, Mr. Mayor.” 

“That sounds okay,” he said. “The newness is wearing on me, but it’s a good thing.”

Dodge, a former village clerk and trustee with 32 years in Orland Park’s village government, soundly defeated two-term mayor Keith Pekau.

With 45 of 45 precincts in Cook County reporting, Dodge received 8,916 votes (57.1 percent) to Pekau’s 6,701 votes (42.9 percent).

Dodge’s four running mates in the Orland Park For All party also won, giving the slate a sweep of the mayor’s office, the clerk’s office and three trustee seats.

Trustee candidates Dina M. Lawrence had 8,594 votes, John Lawler received 8,514 and Joanna Liotine Leafblad garnered 8,279 to win. 

Incumbents Brian Riordan (6,426), Carol McGury (6,182) and Sean Kampas (6,127) fell short of re-election. 

Six ran for three seats.

The clerk’s race saw Mary Ryan Norwell receive 8,900 votes to roll past Brian Gaspardo’s 6,386.

The Orland Park For All candidates all won in the village’s one precinct in Will County.

Dodge said the resounding win resulted from “a combination of things.”

“The people of Orland Park wanted a village hall that was focused on them, focused on their concerns. And they wanted the partisan rancor gone. That’s what you see tonight with these numbers. We are obviously very pleased. We worked hard.”

“Keith and his team ran a strong campaign. Our message about change resonated with the voters. We started thinking about this as a team. I built this as a team and it’s deliberately bipartisan so we can be non-partisan in our governance,” Dodge said.

Dodge is a Republican. Norwell and Liotine Leafblad are Democrats. “Dina and John, they’re free spirits,” Dodge said.

First on the agenda is “tearing into all the financials and getting the Finance Department right,” Dodge said. 

“There’s a lot of money we’re spending that’s not aligned to the priorities of the people of Orland Park. That resonated (with voters),” Dodge said.

Lawrence agreed with Dodge and said her thoughts are on “how our community came together to tell us they want to see things done differently.”

“I’m asking them to tell us what they think so we can make it happen,” Lawrence said. 

She noted the party’s name, Orland Park For All, “is the foundation.”

Lawrence, who walked an average of four miles a day on the campaign trail, said she had a good feeling on Election Day.

“Now, the real work begins,” Lawrence said.

Among those celebrating was former state representative and Minority Leader of the House Jim Durkin.

“I’ve known Jim Dodge for over 20 years. Jim is a very sincere honest man and it’s too bad there was a lot of misinformation that came from the incumbents. People saw through it. … Jim took the pulse of the people and got into the race. I’m happy for him,” Durkin said.

“He’s going to do a very good job because he’s a good businessman and he’s a good person. That’s the most important thing, you have a good, decent moral person (as mayor),” Durkin said.

“It’s a good day for the residents of Orland Park,” he added.

Tuesday marked the end of a bitter campaign between the two men who had been on friendlier terms, although they did clash at times when both were on the board from 2017 to 2021.

Besides some questionable spending, like $13 million on a park renovation for a concert venue, Dodge took issue with Pekau whom he said did not respect the rights of demonstrators who were pro-Palestine after he denied an attempt to introduce a Gaza ceasefire resolution.

After the protesters were gaveled down and eventually removed from the village board room by police, Dodge said the matter was not properly handled.

“You don’t insult American citizens expressing themselves at a public meeting in a legitimate forum,” he told Fox-32.

Dodge made a point of thanking Arab-American voters for their support during his brief victory speech Tuesday night.

Dodge also had taken issue with Pekau over the village’s sales tax rate of 10.25 percent which, he said, is driving some businesses to nearby communities with lower tax rates.

Pekau had countered that he has attracted 5,000 jobs to Orland Park and that the state and Cook County get most of the sales taxes collected.

Dodge has said that the village will soon be nearly $200 million in debt.

Things like that could not be overlooked or ignored, said Dean Casper of the School District 146 board.

“I think he won because people are tired of all the negativity. On top of that, the fiscal malfeasance that’s been going on. For the first time in history, they missed filing audits two years in a row. 

“Everything’s a battle. Using the village board meeting for personal attacks against residents and groups. I just think people were tired of it.

“I’ll tell you this,” Casper added, “no one got Jim Dodge more votes than Keith Pekau.”