'A New Day' And Dodge: Orland Park's Pick For Mayor Basks In Win

ORLAND PARK, IL — In the end, it was "congratulations and good luck."

Almost hard to believe.

The Election Night exchange between incumbent Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau and newly elected mayor Jim Dodge was brief and civil—quite the antithesis of a campaign season fraught with robocalls, social media mudslinging, attacks and counter-attacks.

Tuesday's numbers show former village clerk and trustee Dodge had thumped Pekau, with Dodge securing 8,916 votes to Pekau's 6,701 in Cook County precincts.

Gathered with supporters at Blissful Banana Café, Dodge watched his Orland Park For All slate sweep Pekau's People Over Politics, with the former locking in trustee candidates Dina M. Lawrence, John Lawler and Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad, as well as Mary Ryan Norwell for clerk.

Just an hour after polls closed, Dodge declared victory for himself and the slate as a whole. Nearly simultaneously as the Orland Park For All press release went out, Pekau sent him a text message.

"The text was pretty simple," Dodge said. "'Congratulations and good luck.'''

Dodge thanked him. And that was that.

"Short and sweet. Kept it civil. We move on."

Reflecting on the race and looking forward to next steps, Dodge on Wednesday said he'd known what he was getting himself into running against Pekau—but maybe, not quite the extent of it.

"A lot of the things that were said were literally distortions and outright lies," Dodge said Wednesday.

"When you run for a position like this, against a person like Keith Pekau, you know you are going to be attacked. You assume it will be distorted and unfair, but you don’t know the exact nature of what will be said."

At his own gathering at Papa Joe's in Orland Park Tuesday night, Pekau was a man of more words. He told supporters, he "got shellacked," The Regional News reports.

He also took what could be interpreted as a parting shot, saying he doesn't "recognize the voter in Orland Park anymore," and, "People don’t get the government they want. They get the government they deserve."

With a second to breathe after the frenzy, Dodge spoke Wednesday of what comes next.

"Once we all get sworn in and we get everybody on the team updated and briefed, we’re going to be very aggressive about making sure we understand exactly what the true financial condition of the village is," he said.

He's referencing the delinquent audits that made headlines in fall 2024. That, along with contentious exchanges with residents, sparked something in voters, said Dodge's Campaign Manager Dean Casper.

"Orland Park for All had great candidates, voter focused, obviously the incumbent's performance in office was a factor," Casper said. "The overspending, missing audits, and behavior toward residents led to a desire for change."

Dodge said he wants residents and Village employees alike to know that's something they can expect to change.

"We'll be making sure that we signal a clear message to the people working at the Village, that this is a new day," Dodge said. "We have a very different approach to leadership and management, and we all have high expectations.... We’re going to address some of the toxicity of the work environment."

In his candidate questionnaire, he noted that residents want to see a shift in tone.

"This is what we hear from Orland Park residents: Focus on us," he wrote. "We want to feel safe at home in Orland Park. Taxes are too high. Stop the political battles with everyone. Treat everyone with respect."

He'll strive to get back to a less politically-charged way of doing things, he said.

"I want to bring back the spirit of service to and focus on the residents and restore non-partisan leadership to the Village Board," he wrote in his questionnaire.

On Wednesday, he said he'll remind Village employees of that same goal.

"Make sure employees recognize they’re there to deliver high level services to the community," he said.

He'll focus on the platform that helped secure him the win.

"Immediately start working on staffing levels, work conditions for the police department," he said. "

"We're going to establish ways for the people of Orland Park to let us know, and have a say on their spending priorities," he said.

He mentioned Centennial Park West—a $12 million event and concert venue he's not sure many residents even wanted.

"We’re just not going to do stuff like that anymore—the resources that Orland has, meaning tax dollars—that they’re not aligned with what residents want," he said.

For now, Dodge is taking the time to celebrate his team as they prepare to take the reins in May.

"It was totally a team win, the way this coalition came together," he said. "... When this started, we kicked this campaign off in October 2024, and we had zero dollars in the bank.

"We built a working coalition, we had an objective in mind, we knew what we wanted to accomplish, that became the messaging—and we worked our butts off to get it done."

Dodge said that with all votes including mail-in tallied, it's possible he could scratch 9,000.

"I’ve lost a couple of elections, and I’ve won ‘em," he said.

"This sure as hell feels better than losing."