Readers didn’t hold back after reading outgoing Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau’s comments in a story by reporter Jeff Vorva published on The Regional News’s new website.
The story reported Pekau’ saying publicly that his election loss was due to his refusal to support a Gaza ceasefire resolution, sparking more than two dozen online comments by Friday afternoon. Of those, more than a dozen came from residents who gave their full names — and they took issue not only with Pekau’s framing of the controversy, but with his leadership, rhetoric, and record in office.
At a village board meeting, Pekau said, “It’s clear I lost because I refused to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East. 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.”
For many, that quote didn’t sit well.
“It was quite obvious that former mayor Pekau was and is an ignorant person referencing the war on Gaza as a religious war,” Robert J. Sweiss wrote. “Instead, he interjected his narrow-minded and ignorant bias and exposed himself to ridicule and disgrace.”
Liz Veritas said Pekau didn’t lose because of Gaza, but because of his failure as a leader.
“Everyone knows he lacked any power to change the course of the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” she wrote. “What the residents were asking for was symbolic acknowledgment … He failed miserably.”
Darold Barnum pointed out what they considered a factual flaw in Pekau’s framing: “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.”
Others were still upset over Pekau’s behavior at a tense Feb. 5 board meeting, when he told residents, “You can go to another country and support that country.”
“How can you ignore the requests of your constituents, berate and insult them, and expect them to forget about it?” wrote Mara Sweeney.
Thomas Hester replied to that quote directly: “Actually, the way it works in this country is if you are unhappy with your elected leaders, you can vote them out. Glad to see the system worked so well.”
Some comments addressed what they described as a deeper pattern of disrespect and division.
“Sadly, when an apple gets infected like a human who develops hatred and racism, it just eats itself from the inside out,” Sam Khalil wrote. “That’s what happened in Orland Park’s election.”
Ed Hasan criticized Pekau for ignoring international human rights reports: “He preferred to spout bigoted tropes and blame the innocents for their predicament.”
Neil Haleem said Pekau “misunderstood the Palestinian community,” and pointed to his combative tone and treatment of residents as a factor in his defeat.
Waleed Atawneh added, “What is disturbing is that he is still doubling down and regurgitating ignorant facts… These are not features of a good leader.”
Sheridans Trail brought up a separate issue, saying Pekau’s actions cost her subdivision $90,000 in legal fees after he supported a developer’s project on wetlands.
“He would send the police and his friends in the village engineering department to give warnings and harass us,” she wrote. “That loser!”
Mike Matar wrote, “Now Pekau realizes the mistake he made when he commented racist remarks… now it’s his turn to GOOOO.”
Jaser Shareef closed his comment with a call for change: “We need someone who cares about the village and the people that live in it, and doesn’t discriminate against anybody. One for all and all for one.”
Pekau, who served two terms as mayor, will formally leave office May 5.
Pekau is just another example that there is no Republican Party in Illinois. I wonder how many people in Orland are here on expired visas. Without true leadership, we will never know.
Thank you for showing that racism is a requirement to support Pekau. You are aware that only citizens are allowed to vote.
It’s a shame that this article chose to only quote known Pekau haters. It also took Pekau’s board meeting comment’s out of context. I was at the polls daily during early voting and on election day. It was very obvious that the Arab community came out in groves in opposition to him. Facts matter.