Orland Park admits Malfeasance in Missing Audits

By Kathy Fenton

The Village of Orland Park issued a response to the Illinois Comptroller citing the village for their epic failure to file audits since 2021, the first time in the 132 year history of Orland Park the village has demonstrated such epic fiscal mismanagement.

Among the excuses proffered by the Pekau Administration are

- Staff Turnover. Orland Park was a destination job for civic professionals before Pekau became mayor, however, since Pekau became mayor in 2017, many knowledgeable staff leave given Pekau's hyper-partisan governance, failure to control his anger in public, lack of knowledge, certainly contributed to this mess.

- Lack of Institutional Knowledge. This goes hand in glove with the staff turnover, but is especially embarrassing for Pekau, who has been mayor for 8 years, and claims to be proficient in so many areas of public finance despite repeated failures. Pekau's obedient trustees Cindy Nelson Katsenas, Mike Milani, and the union hating Bill Healy, who is a CPA.

Trustees Joni Radzewski, Brian Riordan, and Pekau's heir apparent Sean Kampas stay silent as the village finances turn to rubble.

- The village admitted the last filed audit was late in 2021, thus causing a two year delay in 2022 audit being filed. This is especially ridiculous. Audits for a governmental body the size of Orland Park should be completed in approximately 3 months. Outrageous.

- Change of accounting software. Again...the absurdity of this excuse insults anyone with common sense let alone in the financial field. Government bodies change accounting programs all the time as technology evolves and never miss an audit. The incompetence, or willful desire to evade public scrutiny, of Mayor Pekau, and his trustees, are the reason audits have not been filed since 2021.

It is not a coincidence that the Village of Orland Park has not filed a audit since Mayor Pekau gained complete control of the Village Board in 2021, securing complete control over every trustee.