Businesses Can Choose To Enforce Vax Mandate: Orland Park Board

ORLAND PARK, IL — On Tuesday night, Orland Park village trustees voted to set their own COVID-19 vaccine regulations in defiance of Cook County's recent mandate.

The mandate, which is set to go into effect Monday, would require businesses and other indoor venues to check a patron's vaccine status before they're allowed to enter.

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has publicly denounced the mandate, calling the order "unlawful" in a letter to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

While the village is not tasked with enforcing the county mandate, Pekau told reporters he will not encourage Orland Park police officers to implement the policy.

However, Cook County Department of Public Health officials told Patch on Wednesday that sheriff's deputies and other county enforcement arms could conduct inspections and punish businesses that do not comply.

The vote conducted at a special board meeting Tuesday night declared businesses within the village will be able to choose whether or not they want to utilize the vaccine mandate or not once it goes into effect Jan. 3.

"I'm shocked that [the county] wouldn't even consider our officers when asking them to spend their time targeting law abiding businesses at the expense of doing real police work," said Pekau at the meeting.

Orland Park Police Chief Joe Mitchell also said the vote was necessary to let village business owners know they would be given a choice and not targeted by police should they choose to not enforce the mandate or if they are unable to accommodate the extra resources it would take to enforce.

"I simply do not have nor would I devote crucial resources to this new ill-advised policy," said Mitchell. "The time and efforts of department personnel are better suited to implementing efficient and effective policies and procedures."

Tinley Park Mayor Mike Glotz also publicly announced the village would not utilize resources to enforce the mandate last week. While Glotz acknowledged the village is not required to execute the countywide initiative, he told residents Tinley Park officials were not consulted on the new mandate or asked about the reality of imposing the new guideline.