Outgoing Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau acknowledged Monday night that the stance that he and the village board took by not voting on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza cost him an election.
Insiders in Pekau’s camp say that 2,500 people of Middle Eastern descent voted in the April 1 election.
According to unofficial vote totals provided by the Cook County and Will County clerk’s offices, challenger Jim Dodge beat out the two-term mayor 8,938-6,710 – a 2,228 difference. Absentee ballots need to be counted in both counties before the votes will be ratified and officially released.
“It’s clear I lost because I refused to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East,” Pekau said at the April 7 village board meeting. “People brought a religious war over 6,000 miles away that’s been ongoing for a few millennia here to Orland Park.
“Let that sink in.”
The Feb. 5, 2024, meeting was apparently not forgotten by pro-Palestinian residents.
During the packed meeting, Pekau and the board refused to draw up a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
There was chanting and shouting and during a period when Pekau was trying to explain his position, he was shouted down and he had police clear the boardroom.
Several people who spoke at that meeting and a more calm meeting two weeks later predicted the pro-Palestine community would vote him and the other members of the board out of office.
During the raucous meeting, Pekau said “You can go to another country and support that country and all power to you if you choose to do that.”
Some chose to shorten that comment to “Go to another country” and that made some who were already angry to be even more irritated.
The current board will host its final meeting on April 21 and the new board is scheduled to take over May 5.
Pekau was complementary toward his board and promised that at the next meeting he will rave about the good things it did in the past eight years.
But at the April 7 gathering, he was railing on those who became his enemies over the years, including mayor-elect Dodge.
“Over the last eight years, I stood between the people of Orland Park and some very, very dark forces at a great personal cost,” Pekau said. “My wife [Betty] bore the brunt of this, too. She’s been strong because she understood the impact we were making.”
He said Dodge’s campaign was based on bringing civility back but he wasn’t buying it.
“What it really means is that now that they are in charge, they will stop destroying the town and those running it,” Pekau said.
It’s about time that this village needs changes , we need someone who cares about the village and the people that lives in it ,and don’t discreminat against any body.
One for all and all for one.
Now pekau realizes the mistake he made when he commented racist remarks, especially towards Arab American. A little too late, he closed the barn door after he let the horses go, now it’s his turn to GOOOO
Fear, fear fear that all he had to say. You lost because of your dark ideology. Admit it and move on
He is a sour loser period, the comment about religious war is piece of nonsense. Get a life and go on loossser
Glad pekau is out! He costed my subdivision over 90k in legal fees by taking sides against the homeowners and defending a builder who built townhouses on wetlands and than wanted us to flip the bill of knocking down fences and adding dirt to our back yards to increase our grading. The area was unincorporated and pekau incorporated it and then wanted us to pay for his cronies projects. He would send the police and his friends in the village engineering department to give warnings and harass us. We met him in court and won. That Loser!
Mayor Pekau misunderstood the Palestinian community. They were asking for a symbolic gesture to support a cease fire. Every country in the world supported a cease-fire. It was the right think to do for any country facing war destruction
Aside from that he loves hitting the gavel was disrespectful to an elderly lady that only wanted him to answer a question About the status of Schussler Park.
Maybe the village businesses that came in during his tenure were some of the good things that were accomplished. The Orland market sells itself, regardless of who’s in charge. It’s a great place to live. He should consider taking some anger management classes to be able to lead without trying to be a bully that’s the real reason why he lost the election and my vote.
Well said, my friend
What is disturbing is that he is still doubling down and regurgitating ignorant facts. Despite the fact that he was in power and in a position to access resources to learn more and know better. These are not features of a good leader and it vindicates those who voted for his opponent.
Ex- Mayor Pekau now you are free to go back to your country
Keith cares about THE VILLAGE OF ORLAND PARK. He breathed life into it when COVID threatened to destroy it. He and his trustees have made it the beautiful village that it is.
Over time, everyone will suffer the effects of his absence.
No they won’t Cindy… you can’t name anything he’s done
It was due to a lack of respect for the citizens of Orland Park and a dismissive attitude towards the innocents 6,000 miles away. Pekau dismissed facts from Amnesty International, the ICC, and the ICJ, preferring to spout bigoted tropes and blame the innocents for their predicament.
Men like Pekau, who equate love of country with blind loyalty to government, are the real threat to our democracy. “I love my country so, that I trust my government not.”
Sadly ,When an apple gets infected like a human who develops hatred and racism from within it just eats it from inside out and it destroys itself unfortunately thats what happened in Orlando park election.
Pekar rode into office as a Trump disciple, willing to risk the interests if the many to protect the profits of the few local local business interests who supported him. The racist, isolationist positions did him in. Residents could stomach his half truths any longer.
…During the raucous meeting, Pekau said “You can go to another country and support that country and all power to you if you choose to do that.
…Actually, the way it works in this country is if you are unhappy with your elected leaders, you can vote them out of office. Glad to see the system worked so well.
“People brought a religious war over 6,000 miles away that’s been ongoing for a few millennia here to Orland Park.Let that sink in.” -Pekau clearly can’t take personal accountability. How can you ignore the requests of your constituents, berate and insult them, and expect them to forget about it? He lost, because he lacks humanity and empathy.
Good riddance. Dude was phenomenally ignorant to his constituents and does not understand politics at all. In the future we must do better.
Pekau can write his narrative about why he lost, but the true narrative stands with the voters.
Pekau, the reason you lost is because of your racist remarks and your lack of change in Orland Park.
A call for a ceasefire from you would have only been a small gesture, as the entire UN couldn’t work towards a ceasefire. You failed to acknowledge and understand your community. Yes, your community. Whether you accept it or not- We are here. We will remain. We will build with the community. We will value the people within our community. And if you don’t “go back to your country,” you’ll have the luxury of watching this community flourish without your leadership (lack of).
Good riddance. Old racist man. Wears his bullet proof vest while walking his German Shepard in his own neighborhood as if anyone is even thinking about him let alone trying to hurt his old aaaaaaaa.
Why’s he still talking? He can “GO”!
Yup, Keith says he lost because he bravely stood up to those who wanted him to denounce a religious war. Small problem, only 25% of Arab Americans in the area are Muslim, with most of the rest being Christian. So sorry, Keith, but you lost because so many Christians voted against you.
Keith lost not due to a “religious war 6,000 miles away” but rather due to being an incompetent leader. Everyone knows he lacked any power to change the course of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, what the residents were asking for was symbolic acknowledgment of the atrocities from their local leaders. He failed miserably and chose to instead spout rhetoric and flawed reasoning to excuse the murder of innocents and disregard the request of those he represents. Add that to the fact that he pillaged taxpayer dollars to give contracts to his cronies in exchange for political donations and had to hire three separate financial firms to fix the numbers of his thrice failed audit putting us on the map as a financial blunder and we have a mayor that took the good name of our town and tarnished it publicly. The public (7,000 out of over 9,000 Orland Park votes for Jim Dodge were NOT casted by Arab Americans) in Orland Park have spoken, and they’ve taken away his gavel and his seat on the village board. Time for Orland Park to move on and leave the mistakes of the past where they belong, in the past.
It was quite obvious that former mayor Pekau was and is an ignorant person referencing the war on Gaza as a religious war. If he would have understood it to be a war on humanity and a war on religious communities be it Islamic or Christian since both have been attacked, a normal human being would have acknowledged the grievances of his constituents. Instead, he interjected his narrow-minded and ignorant bias and exposed himself to ridicule and disgrace. It is a shame that you continue not to acknowledge your ignorance of a serious humantarian topic and tarnishing your legacy. It’s what you will be remembered for despite any good you may have done for Orland Park. Orland Park made its decision for a new mayor based on your mishandling of your people. I hope you will acknowledge one day the humanity of people here in Orland Park as well as abroad. A course in stoic philosophy would help.
Still trying to use fear mongering amongst the community that’s what I let sink in!! Shows his lack of morality and I’m so happy he does not represent our diverse community any longer.
First off…Mr Pekau, it’s not a war, it’s a genocide. Second, it has not been going on for millennium. It has been going on since 1948, when the Palestinians who lived there since the dawn of time, were forced out. And third, if we as AMERICANS are paying taxes and some of our taxes are going to help ” Israel” continue their terrorism and genocide, then you better damnnn believe that we will not stay quiet.
Pekau lost because of the same ignorance he had by gaslighting his Arab (contextually in OP, overwhelmingly Palestinian) constituents into this being a religious war, and then insinuating that his consitutuents that they are terrorist sympathizers if they do not agree with him. This is not a religious war, though an argument can be made that evangelicals conflate israel with the Israelites if the Bible, and thus funds this entity’s monstrosities, thus American Evangelicals making it religious. If he’s ever to run again, I’d suggest that his sources of income become public to verify he is not being lobbied by the notorious I.
Keith Pekau has been an excellent mayor to Orland Park for 8 years..I refuse to bow to Leftist ideology. I am an American number 1, as Mayor Pekau said, and those people who refuse to put American first can go back to the country of their choice. I agree 100%…we in America, have been the underdog long enough. We have every right to make America great (MAGA). And I pray, even though Mayor Pekau lost this election, that President Trump’s policies will blow through all the ignorant comments I have read here….
8 years of patronizing grift. Your arrogance towards those who disagreed with you; your questionable business practices with the village; your weaponization of government against the residents. You reigned over a divided community that you fostered. You beat Dan by 1100 votes the first time after an investment by Bruce Rauner and Dan Proft; won by only 300 the second time as Rauner and Proft faded away; and now you lost by 2,200 votes. Did you activate a new voting block to come out against you? Yes, but you were barely hanging on in a best case scenario. Talking down to residents, that pushed it over the top…. Buh Bye.
He’s a smart man yet very delusional. HE brought this on to himself. The broader community voted him out. He should have won by a long shot. His time as mayor has been fraught with controversy and overreaching. The 2500 pro Palestinian voters were not the only reason.