Orland Park Mayor Criticizes Illinois Lawmakers

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau disapproves of certain items passed in the upcoming 2022 fiscal year budget for the state of Illinois. At Monday evening's Board of Trustees meeting at the Village Hall, Pekau took some time to tell residents why.

At the meeting, the mayor addressed the budget, criticizing a pay raise for legislators.

"Just last week, they passed the budget that includes many things, but here's some of what include a pay raise of over $1,000 a year for legislators as reward apparently for working just four days during COVID," Pekau said. "They over doubled their individual budgets for their legislative staff, from $70,000 to $160,000. These are staffs that didn't show up to work for most of the year, this is nothing but a slush fund on the taxpayers dime."

Two holidays were also passed, as legislators approved to recognize June 19, or Juneteenth, and Election Day 2022 as state holidays.

"Soon we'll be paying them for the whole year for not working," Pekau said. "Kind of tried that last year with COVID a little bit, but it didn't work so well. It's absurd."

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The mayor mentioned that a traffic light at the intersection of 179th Street and Southwest Highway was supposed to be activated on Tuesday. The installation construction, along with reconfiguring the intersection was completed last fall, but the mayor said it has taken over eight months to energize a signal for the traffic light, because there is no electricity.

"Traffic signals need electricity, and that little ity bity detail was forgotten. Really, you can't make this up," Pekau said. "I am sure the legislature was thinking that two more days off on the taxpayers back will help solve issues like this, and get them to think a little more clearly.

The mayor also brought up the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The Village Board previously asked legislators to protect and preserve existing funds that were considered for further reduction by the state. Legislators did not vote to cut the funds any further, but the mayor is calling for the state to restore the LGDF to its original 10 percent, noting that it was for decades.

Pekau then addressed the recent zone redistricting that Pritzker recently signed in to a law. He referred to the new zoning as a form of gerrymandering.

"It fails to follow law. It does not use the census data as required, and further disenfranchises the residents of Orland Park, and Illinois," Pekau said. "Look no further than the state Supreme Court map, that hadn't been changed since before I was born."

The mayor then addressed the 2019 capital bill, calling it an example of "gerrymandering and nepotism." The mayor said Orland Park did not receive any funding from the state, while other suburban municipalities did.

"Orland Hills received $8.6 million and Harvey received $9.1 million. The next highest in the south suburbs was Richton Park at 1.9 million," Pekau said. "The bill did give our neighboring Tinley Park a measly $750,000, and Mokena $335,000. They gave us nothing."

The mayor singled out the Village of Orland Hills as an example.

"To put this in perspective, Tinley Park received $13 per resident, Mokena received $16 per resident, Richton Park $141 per resident, Harvey $341 per resident and Orland hills, a whopping $1,214 per resident," Pekau said. "The answer that we get is that this was based on equity and need. It appears from the state's perspective Tinley Park in Orland Park, and the combined 38 square miles of our towns and infrastructure that completely surround the one square mile in Orland hills, simply are not nearly as an important economic driver for the state of Illinois."

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