The Cost of Denial: Keith Pekau’s Legal Fight Is Draining Orland Park

By: Martin Adams

When former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau left office in May 2025, most residents thought they’d seen the last of his political theatrics. But now, months later, the village finds itself tangled in yet another Pekau problem. A judge has issued a restraining order against the former mayor after accusations that he took confidential municipal documents when he left office, the same documents he insists he doesn’t have.

There’s just one problem with that claim: he posted them on his own blog. It’s not just bizarre; it’s costly. Every court appearance, motion, and filing adds to a mounting legal bill that taxpayers will ultimately have to pay. Why drag out a case when the evidence is staring everyone in the face?

Some residents are beginning to suspect it’s not about defending his reputation anymore, but about driving up legal costs and inflicting more damage on the village’s finances.
And this wouldn’t be the first time Pekau’s actions hit taxpayers in the wallet. During his time in office, he pushed through a $13 million concert venue in his own neighborhood, a project expected to lose more than $100,000 per concert. He also delayed a major bond issuance until after the election, conveniently keeping voters in the dark about the mountain of debt he had already piled onto their shoulders.

It’s a familiar pattern: reckless decisions, deflection of blame, and a refusal to take responsibility. Now, instead of stepping aside gracefully after losing by the largest margin in village history, Pekau seems determined to make Orland Park pay for his bruised ego, literally.

For Orland Park, it’s time to move forward. But that can only happen when those who once led the village stop making the people who trusted them pay the price for their grudges.