Election 2025: Orland Park Village Clerk Candidate Mary Ryan Norwell

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park residents in the thick of a contentious local election season are likely about ready to see it end. With the consolidated election set for April 1, early voting began March 17, and residents can make their picks for the village's next leaders.

Incumbent Mayor Keith Pekau's People Over Politics slate will face off against mayoral challenger Jim Dodge's Orland Park for All.

Pekau is flanked by trustee candidates Sean Kampas, Carol McGury, and Brian Riordan, along with clerk candidate Brian Gaspardo.

Dodge leads his slate of trustee candidates Dina M. Lawrence, John Lawler and Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad, as well as Mary Ryan Norwell for clerk.

Patch sent questionnaires to candidates, and their answers are now published in their candidate profiles. Early voting began March 17. Find out where and when you can vote ahead of April 1.

Candidate:

Mary Ryan Norwell

Campaign website:

Orland Park for All

Office sought:

Village clerk

Town/city of residence:

Orland Park

Party Affiliation (if a partisan race):

Non Partisan

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

No - not at this time. I am a retired Cook County State's Attorney, my brother Mike is a retired local 150 heavy machine operator for the City of Chicago and my brother Patrick is a retired United States Air Force Fireman

Occupation. Please include years of experience.

Attorney - 41 years

Previous or current elected or appointed office.

None

The most pressing issues facing Orland Park are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

The most pressing issues facing Orland Park are management of finances, economic development, improvement of services for the residents and respect for all residents regardless of sex, color of skin or religion. I intend to work with and listen to professionals in the finance and economic development fields. I promise to treat all residents with respect, even if we disagree on the substantive issues.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

There is only one candidate that I am running against - Brian Gaspardo. The difference is that I am an attorney who has worked in public service for my career. I have worked with and advised mayors, clerks, and all departments within the Village, including police, fire, code, and public works. I am semi-retired and plan on being a hands-on clerk, treating this as a full-time job.

On the other hand, Mr. Gaspardo is an accountant who has his own full-time job. The village only sees him at the meetings. This is unfortunate because the Clerk's job is so much more than meetings. The residents need someone who can help them on a day-to-day basis.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

One of the Clerk's duties is to ensure that the Village complies with local, state and federal law. As an attorney, I decided to run for the legal compliance arm of the Village, when I learned that the current administration was ignoring the law when they failed to file state-mandated audits. If elected, I will take responsibility for ensuring that the laws are complied with. I will not let years pass without compliance and then blame others for my own inaction. The Village Clerk’s office needs a strong leader who will not disregard the law. I promise to be that person.

Even though the current Clerk is an accountant and auditor, he has not taken any leadership role in getting the Village in compliance with Illinois law requiring the filing of yearly audits by municipalities. Mr. Gaspardo, who was appointed by the Mayor after making a sizeable donation to his campaign, has a history of financial negligence when he failed to account for a $700,000 theft when he was auditor for the Village of Burnham. Gaspardo and his firm were sued, accused of making “material representations” in claiming to have found no irregularities in village accounts during annual audits. Gaspardo subsequently settled with Burnham and paid them $200,000 for his negligence. (See, Village of Burnham v. O'Neill and Gaspardo, LLC, et al 15L10674) In our village, instead of working with the State to bring the village into compliance on the audits, Gaspardo and his slate have made this a political issue and blamed the State for picking on them. A public servant is a person who will do what needs to be done for the betterment of the Village, not look for excuses when it is not done.

One issue that is important to me is the respect that we as a Village must give to our residents. It is painful to watch the Mayor use his gavel to shut grandmothers asking about parks or yell at residents to go back to their own country. We are a bi-partisan ticket with the words "for all" in our name. I want residents to be comfortable talking to us about issues they have with the village. I promise to treat all residents with the respect they deserve.

Secondly, the Ethics Ordinance needs to be tightened . The foundation of OPFA is transparency, especially when it comes to being the watchdog for our citizens’ money. We cannot allow anyone to profit from vendors who do business with the Village – it is unethical. The current ethics ordinance, created by the Pekau Administration, is weak and allows the Administration to ignore potential conflicts in the Village.

The current Administration is not following its own Ethics ordinance . The Ordinance provides for an Ethics Officer and independent commission to investigate Whistleblower and Ethics violations. Per the Village website, the Commission has not had a public meeting in the four years that it has been in existence. When the commissioner came up for reappointment in May 2024, the Mayor did not do so. Any employee with whistleblower information has no independent commission to report it.

If elected, we will not only activate the Ethics Commission, appoint a Commissioner and members of the Commission but also ensure that employees, vendors, and citizens are not afraid to file ethics complaints. I will support the following changes to the Ethics Ordinance:
1. When there are potential conflicts of interests - where an elected official or employee has a financial relationship with a vendor of the village- the law provides that before the vote, the relationship must be disclosed and the elected official must refrain from any discussion on the issue and abstain from voting. That has not always happened in the Village pursuant to the current ordinance. No one is holding them accountable.
2. Requiring Vendors to disclose whether they have any relationship with any Village officials, employees, or their families. If there is a conflict of interest, they will not get the Village’s business.
3. Review how local elections are run. Put limits on the amount of money Vendor’s can contribute to campaigns, when and where signs may be posted and how large signs may be on residential and commercial property.

I have been an attorney for 41 years as well as an Adjunct Professor at Chicago Kent Law School and an Adjunct Professor in Legal Studies at Purdue. During this time, I was also a wife, mom of three and volunteer. I currently run my own small business – Ryan Norwell Law, LLC, representing municipalities and school boards. I also volunteer at St. Michael’s parish and am the Assistant Treasurer on the Chicago Gaelic Park Board. I can handle this job.

Why should voters trust you?

As a public servant, I am here to serve the residents of Orland Park. I have chosen to run on with a bi-partisan slate of professionals and am not beholden to any politician or political party. My loyalty is to the everyday person or business who is looking for information, needs help with a license, or simply has needs help with figuring out the bureaucracy of a municipality. I have a proven record of working for people during my life and career. Throughout my career, I stood up to bullies to ensure that the voice of the people was heard, and the right thing was done. I promise not to stop.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?

Transparency. The Illinois Freedom of Information law ("FOIA") is one of the most powerful tools to allow our residents to find how the Village represents them when it spends money and makes decisions. The law provides that public records pertaining to the transaction of public business of the Village are available for the public to view. The Clerk of the Village is traditionally the FOIA officer. He/She then appoints deputies and others to help with gathering the records. To ensure that FOIA is complied with to the highest degree of transparency, each person responsible for FOIA collection or response must take a FOIA certification class every year from the Attorney General. The Attorney General's office has revealed that neither the Mayor, Clerk (my opponent), the Village Manager nor Assistant Village Manager have current certification from the class. Under my leadership, I would ensure that all Village employees responsible for FOIA would be in compliance and the Village’s responses be more transparent.

This Administration has taken the FOIA responsibility from the Clerk's Office and placed it under the Village Manager's Office. If elected, the FOIA responsibility will go back where it belongs – the Clerk’s office. Currently, the Village Manager fights the release of information under the FOIA - especially when it comes to financial documentation. If the Village is not transparent in its responses, it will result in litigation with the Attorney General’s Office or through the Courts.

The Attorneys who represent the village engage in the FOIA releases. It is my understanding that they review every FOIA request and response, not just the ones in litigation. The litigation costs have been reported as costing the Village at least $275,000. However, there are additional FOIA review costs. Where our Village has thousands of FOIA requests per year, that adds up to thousands in Attorney’s fees for FOIA review. As an attorney, I would review the Village's responses to the requests for documents, not the outside attorneys - thus saving the Village money by doing so.

As an attorney I would also review why our attorney costs are so high - close to one million dollars a year. The Village has taken the unusual position to have a law firm attorney inside the village two full days a week - not just when needed. There are also two attorneys at staff meetings, not one. Each attorney bills the Village by the hour. It is easy to see why the fees are so high. This must stop. The Village needs to be more transparent in its use and payments to attorneys.

Once again, I will use the word "transparency.” " Currently, there are too many no bid contracts with little explanation. As the Village Clerk, who will oversee the Requests for Proposals. ("RFP") I will encourage the use of this method of awarding contracts to open competition and encourage a variety of alternative proposals that might be considered by the project's planners. We must live up to our residents’ trust to use their tax dollars wisely when they voted for us.

What are your thoughts on the crime rate in your community, and what more can be done to combat crime — especially violent crime — in town?

The Orland Park Police Department is comprised of dedicated, professional officers. However, due to issues with the current administration, they have lost over thirty officers in the last 2 years. I would begin combating crime by hiring police officers and providing them with the resources they need to stay in Orland Park and become part of our community

What is your view of the Village's approach to commercial and residential development?

With the turnaround of current village staff, including the development and planning positions, the Village's current approach is lacking - especially when it comes to senior services and housing. Simply said, the seniors do not have a voice in the Village. We plan to institute a Senior Advisory Committee which will work with a Village official to bring issues that seniors face in Orland Park. As a proud member of the senior community, I hope to be the official working with the seniors.

When it comes to development, what are some key areas for improvement or additions you feel are most wanted by residents? What will need to be done to make this happen?

I would like to see more small business owners in our community. As Clerk, I would help guide them through the paperwork to help them get their business license, their building permits, and their inspections complete. We would make this happen by reaching out to the community through social media, the Chamber of Commerce and working with the Village to let people know that we will work with them to fulfill their dreams of owning their own business.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have lived in Orland Park for over 30 years and belong to St. Michael parish. My husband Bill and I believe in service and were very involved in the school and parish – room parents, Boy and Girl Scouts, athletic board, coaching at St. Mikes and OYA. I was also a Children’s Liturgist for 10 years and am currently a Eucharistic Minister. I am most proud of my years on Youth Ministry where I volunteered with high school students – I helped with retreats, Habitat for Humanity trips to Appalachia and was a Quest parent to a group of teens throughout their high school years. I lead the inter-faith team where our teens and families socialized and volunteered with teens and families from the mosque. I was also in charge of our monthly volunteer luncheon at the Daybreak homeless shelter in Joliet. Last, but certainly not least, I was an Assistant Scout Master with Orland Boy Scout Troop 318 where my son Joe is and Eagle Scout. Although my children have moved away, Orland Park is where my heart is and where I will stay.