Mayor Refuses To Allow Trustee To Speak At Heated Board Meeting

ORLAND PARK, IL — A tense Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night ended with a showdown between Mayor Keith Pekau and Board member Daniel Calandriello, who wasn't allowed to speak publically about a rebuke from the Mayor regarding the Village's foundering lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 restrictions.

“Breaking news, this is public record, so I can talk about this," Calandriello said at the Board's Aug. 3 meeting. "We finally have the order from the federal judge regarding our preliminary restraining order, which was denied."

A federal judge that week had denied the Village's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the governor's executive orders imposing restrictions on restaurants, bars and other businesses to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. The judge said the lawsuit, filed by two residents, a bar owner and the Village itself, was unlikely to succeed.

“One last tidbit I want to read from the last page of the summary. Plaintiffs — which includes the Village and others ... and I think one’s here — sorry that you lost,” Calandriello said, pointing to a resident sitting in the meeting. “The judge thinks this lawsuit has no merit and that's why our taxpayers spent, I want to say $66,000 on getting laughed at by the judge. So I thought it was appropriate that this is public knowledge that I bring to the public today."

In his final remarks Tuesday, Pekau addressed Calandriello's comments, saying, as chairman, it is his responsibility to correct things when they are incorrect.

“I thought it was inappropriate … [and] uncalled for,” Pekau said. “The resident’s not a board member ... and he didn’t even address the board or say anything to the board. You did this in a public meeting, not in a personal email or a social media post which is all within your right, so I do think you owe him a public apology. It was an embarrassment to the Village, the Board and yourself.”

When Calandriello asked to respond, Pekau refused to let him. Calandriello insisted on a vote from the Board on whether would be allowed to speak.

“I would like to make a point of order to overrule the chair,” Calandriello said as the mayor tried to end the meeting.

“As the chair I have responsibility to handle decorum on this Board floor,” Pekau said. “My decision stands to not allow you to speak. The Board can vote on it.”

Trustees Kathleen Fenton, James Dodge and Calandriello all voted to allow him to speak. The vote was three to four, and Calandriello was denied speaking privileges. After the meeting moved into executive session, Pekau stood from his chair and walked over to Calendriello, where the two had a private conversation that turned heads in the boardroom.

Patch spoke with Calandriello, who said the remark he made on Aug. 3 was directed toward his friend in a joking manner.

“I think it's a little concerning that [Pekau] would point that out,” Calandriello told Patch. “Also at the end of the day ... if you make yourself a party to a lawsuit, if you lose that lawsuit, are we not supposed to comment about that?”

Calandriello would not specify exactly what the mayor said to him at the end of the meeting, but said he is not afraid of Pekau.

“I'll have to say, it was the threat regarding me trying to challenge his authority again and what the repercussions were,” Calenriello said. “I respect the mayor and his office but really, I think that it was very disrespectful to me. What you saw there with his abrasiveness towards me and others is something that the mayor always does. He is just a 'my way or the highway' kind of guy, and those are his leadership skills.”

Patch reached out to Pekau for comment, but did not receive a response.

Board of Trustees meetings are the first and third Monday of each month at the Village Hall. Meetings are open to the public and can also be viewed live on the Village of Orland Park YouTube page.