Orland Park Mayoral Candidates Share Their Visions For Future In Debate Hosted By Richard Free Press

Orland Park IL

25 March, 2021

12:02 PM

Description

By Jon DePaolis, the Richard Free Press: EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to technical issues, the introduction and first few seconds of Mayor Keith Pekau's first answer were not recorded via the Zoom download. However, the full debate was livestreamed and captured here in its entirety: https://fb.watch/4r7K6F5JuB/. For those without Facebook, the above video hosted on our new YouTube page reflects 95 percent of the debate. ORLAND PARK, Ill. — The two candidates in the Orland Park mayoral race presented different visions for what they want the Village to be in the future Tuesday, March 23, during a debate presented by Richard Free Press. Hosted at the Orland Park Public Library with virtual attendance via Zoom and Facebook Live, the 2021 Orland Park Mayoral Debate was the first time this election season that both incumbent Mayor Keith Pekau and challenger Daniel McLaughlin squared off in a face-to-face debate. During the event, the candidates answered questions ranging from public safety and downtown development to concert series and the state of the roads. Disagreement over the vision for the downtown district One of the biggest differences between the candidates was over their views regarding downtown development. "The [Main Street Triangle project] started about 20 years ago, and it has been a disaster," Pekau said. "It had lost about $40 million before I had arrived." Pekau also said the large buildings in that area of town make it "almost impossible to make it the quaint downtown we've all been told about for 20 years." He said that in his four years, the Village has tried to fix the downtown plan and ultimately found two developers that made it to the final round of interviews. After the firm that was initially selected backed out of the project, he said the Village entered into an agreement with the other developer. "They are local," he said. "They want input from the residents, and their concepts will produce a walkable area with the necessary parking that is needed. They also include an auditorium in the downtown … as well as a lot of office space, retail and restaurants. I was left with a failed project. But I am excited and looking forward to seeing this project through and turning a lemon into lemonade." McLaughlin rebutted Pekau's claim that the Triangle project lost $40 million and added that the Ninety-Seven Fifty building earns $7 million for the Village and the University of Chicago building has a $750,000 yearly land lease for 25 years. "I feel very strongly that Orland Park needs a downtown of some kind," McLaughlin said. "We talked for years about how to do a downtown. I did not like that my kids grew up thinking Orland Square was downtown. The idea of that Triangle was perfect for what we were trying to do. It was based around the train station … which adds another dimension to a walkable downtown area." McLaughlin said he believes the Village is close to accomplishing that vision. Questions regarding public safety in Orland Park, Orland Square Mall Another area of disagreement between the candidates was whether there is a crime issue in the Village and at the Orland Square Mall. McLaughlin said he thinks there is a perception issue with public safety, as he has heard about it often while meeting with residents. "The people in Orland Park are concerned or even afraid to shop at Orland Square and that is a shame," he said. "When people in Orland Park are afraid to shop in shopping centers in their own town, something is wrong. There have been numerous suggestions I've made, some for a few years, to bring back certain policies to control Orland Square a little better. The idea of the teen chaperone policy … I've been talking about that for several years. Every shopping center that I've looked into has that, including Water Tower Place downtown." McLaughlin said he also would be open to discussing some ideas with the mall, such as removing some of the roof to make it an open-area shopping center like in Oak Brook or to place a satellite police station inside the mall to give the feeling of more police activity. "It's something that can be done immediately," he said. Pekau, however, fought back against the notion that there is a crime problem in Orland Park. "The mall statistically is the safest mall in the Chicagoland region," Pekau said. "What a mayor has to do is not tear down the mall but tell people and give them the truth so that perception can be defeated. "The fact is that crime is down in Orland Park to the lowest level it has been in 26 years. That's a fact. It is half of what it was before I took office. We are No. 1 with the lowest violent crimes per capita in the State of Illinois." Candidates respond to question on diversity and representation in government Both candidates also addressed the issues of systemic racism, inequity, and a lack of representation of minority groups in positions of local government. "Here in Orland Park, obviously the area is not as diverse as some other areas around us," Pekau said. "But the people that come shop here are very diverse. So, we see a lot of people of color and a lot of people of different religions coming to our mall to shop and coming into Orland Park to shop. What I tell everyone is the same thing: Race is not a factor in anything we do; gender is not a factor in anything we do. We treat everybody the same, no matter what they look like and no matter what their beliefs are." Pekau said the most important thing for getting people engaged — particularly people in marginalized or minority groups — is for them to want to be involved. "They have to come to us, and they have to get involved and get engaged," he said. "I've appointed several people from the Muslim community to various board positions. I've appointed people who are Hispanic. I don't really look at it like color or religion. I look at it as they are interested in serving the community, so I want to put them out there so they can serve the community." He also said it is difficult to find people to run for office. McLaughlin also touched on the issue, stating that the country — not just Orland Park — is becoming more and more diverse. "I have four kids [and] six grandchildren as of now," he said. "They are going to be living in a world that is very diverse. If we don't set the right example now and show how we need to work together to solve problems and get things done and respect everybody's opinions, then they are going to have a struggle years from now." Other notable moments from Pekau during the debate In response to a question on the concern from residents about the quality of certain roads, Pekau pointed out that Southwest Highway and Wolf Road are state-controlled roads — meaning the State is required to repair them. "Southwest Highway is actually under contract this year for IDOT … to be redone," Pekau said. "It will probably start next year. That is a year delay from what was planned because of land acquisition. That will fix the problem of the flooding over there. In the meantime, we have worked with the forest preserve district to draw down the slough to limit the flooding we've had the two previous years because IDOT had told them not to drain the slough." He also said when he took office, 40% of the local roads were in poor or very poor condition. Because of that, the Village Board has increased the investment in improving the roads the past two years and have gone from nine areas of resurfacing per year to 32. Pekau also voiced support for the Centennial Park West Concert Series, which has been challenged the past two years for several reasons including this past year because of COVID-19 restrictions. "Centennial Park West was built with the promise that we were going to have concerts there, and we've done one free concert a year there," Pekau said. "Very, very small. We never utilized the space. So, one of my goals when I ran was to utilize the space more effectively and to bring in concerts from the outside. "It is going to take some time to get traction. Obviously, COVID killed a lot of that momentum. But our town deserves to have more of these events." Other notable moments from McLaughlin during the debate When answering a question about how he plans to move Orland Park forward after a year of COVID-19 closures and a continued shift in online consumerism, McLaughlin said the Village's future depends on diversifying its economy. "I believe that we need to start looking at more entertainment venues," he said. "I'd love to see a performing arts center — maybe in the downtown area — as a way of attracting people out here that will use our restaurants and our shopping." He also pointed out the unique opportunities that can come from developing the I-80 corridor. "It is in a great town like Orland Park, but it also is in Will County — [and] Will County taxes on businesses is two-thirds less than Cook County," he said. McLaughlin also said there are few if any "high-tech" businesses in Orland Park, whereas the northwest suburbs are home to many. "We need to gear our economic development plan toward attracting those businesses of the future," he said. "It is very possible that the idea of incubators to help with startups and encourage and support startups might be the answer to that." McLaughlin also addressed one of his regrets from his time as mayor — one that may have cost him the 2017 election. "Looking back, the idea of creating the mayor's job from part-time to full-time was a mistake," he said. "I own that mistake and I paid for it, which is why I'm committing to going forward with taking no salary from the Village." Want to support local journalism but not feeling a subscription right now? You can leave a tip instead: https://paypal.me/RichardFreePress?locale.x=en_US. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.