Orland Park 2021 Election: Village, Township, Schools

ORLAND PARK, IL — The Consolidated Elections are finally here. After months of preparation and campaigning, candidates and residents will soon know who the people of Orland Park have elected for school boards, village board, township boards and more.

The polls in Suburban Cook County open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and will remain so until 7 p.m. Election officials say that if you're in line by 7, you will be able to vote no matter how long the line is.

Orland voters will weigh in on a number of contested races in this election. Here is a break-down on what to know this Election Day.

Mayoral Race

The Orland Park mayoral race is one to watch. In December, former Mayor Dan McLaughlin officially announced he is running against incumbent Mayor Keith Pekau, in an effort to reclaim the mayoral seat he lost in 2017. In a sense, this "rematch" will allow voters to choose between McLaughlin — the former mayor who held the position for 24 years, prior to losing it to Pekau in 2017 — or Pekau, the 2017 first-time candidate.

Here is some background on both candidates:

Pekau — The incumbent has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from Duke University, as a Fuqua Scholar. Pekau is a combat veteran and former Air Force Instructor Weapons System Officer. He has over 1,500 hours of flight time, including 45 combat sorties and 150 combat hours over southern Iraq. He is running with the People Over Politics slate. You can review his candidate profile here.

McLaughlin — The former mayor is a "Proud Brother Rice Crusader" and attended Moraine Valley Community College. He was the Executive Director of the Chicagoland AGC for eight years, Executive Director of the Plumbing Contractors Association for twenty-one years, Executive Director of the Plumbing Council of Chicagoland for five years. He is running with the One Orland Party and you can review his candidate profile here.

Victory Insights is projecting a close race, saying it is confident that the race will be decided by just single digit percentage points. Learn more about Victory Insights' projections here.

Village Board

The Village Board candidates are all running on a slate that is either backed by Pekau or McLaughlin.

The People Over Politics slate includes:

• Constantine 'Gus' Lekas — People Over Politics Candidate: Constantine 'Gus' Lekas
• Sean Kampas — People Over Politics Candidate: Sean Kampas
• Brian Riordan — People Over Politics Candidate: Brian Riordan
• Joni Radaszewski — People Over Politics Candidate: Joni Radaszewski

The One Orland slate includes:

• Amy Burrell — One Orland Party Candidate: Amy Burrell
• Patrick O'Sullivan — One Orland Party Candidate: Patrick O'Sullivan
• Chris Kasmer — One Orland Party Candidate: Chris Kasmer
• Derek Rinaldi — One Orland Party Candidate: Derek Rinaldi

Current Trustees Daniel Calandriello, Kathleen Fenton and James Dodge are stepping down after the April election.

Orland Township

Two slates of candidates and a write-in are all hoping to claim Orland Township spots on Election Day.

The Orland Township Together Party and its slate of candidates is backed by incumbent Paul O'Grady. The candidates include:

• Paul O'Grady — Orland Township Supervisor Candidate: Paul O'Grady
• Maria Sanfilippo — Orland Township Together Candidate: Maria Sanfilippo
• Patrick Feldner — Orland Township Together Candidate: Patrick Feldner
• John Lynch — Orland Township Together Candidate: John Lynch
• Michael Maratea — Orland Township Together Candidate: Michael Maratea
• Antonio Rubino — Orland Township Together Candidate: Antonio Rubino
• Rich E. Kelly — Orland Township Together Candidate: Rich E. Kelly
• Cindy Murray — Orland Township Together Candidate: Cindy Murray

The Orland Residents for Responsible Government and its slate of candidates is backed by Scott Kaspar. The candidates include:

• Scott R. Kaspar — Meet Orland Township Supervisor Candidate: Scott R. Kaspar
• Lora Kreczmer — Orland Residents For Responsible Government's: Lora Kreczmer
• Andrea Bowles — Orland Residents For Responsible Government: Andrea Bowles
• Joseph J. Solek — Orland Residents For Responsible Government: Joseph J. Solek
• William Keefer — Orland Residents For Responsible Government: William Keefer

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  Related:
• Orland Township Candidate Turns Self In On 2-Year-Old Warrant
• Candidate William Keefer Responds To Questions Over Lawyer Status

Brian Younker is seeking re-election for Township Highway Commissioner as a write-in candidate. Learn more about Younker by reviewing his candidate survey here.

Orland Township residents can vote on three different referenda this April. The referenda will be written as followed:

• Shall the terms of office for those persons elected to the offices of township supervisor, township trustee, township clerk, township assessor, and township highway commissioner in Orland Township at the April 6, 2021 consolidated election and at each election for any of such offices thereafter, be limited such that no person so elected may serve more than three (3) full four (4) year terms in the same office for terms beginning after the passage of this referendum?
• Should the U.S. Congress pass legislation to place a carbon fee on fossil fuel producers, where the money collected from those fees is divided equally among all Americans, incentivizing businesses and consumers to reduce climate destructing emissions, transition to clean energy, and protect our economic well-being?
• Should Orland Township petition the Illinois Department of Public Health to become a designated immunization site for when the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine becomes available?

School Boards

In December, 693 candidates filed to run for school boards all around Cook County. Here is a look at Orland Park school board races:

With four seats open on the Consolidated High School District 230 school board, four incumbents filed in the uncontested race. Tony Serratore, Melissa Gracias, Susan Dalton and Kate Murphy-Peterson.

Community Consolidated School District 146 candidates Jill Dunlap, Rick Lloyd, Patty Chlada, and Julie Berry are running as a slate in the 146 Party. Other candidates in the running include Shane Wilson, Julie Jackson and Vincent J. Aiello. Learn more about the candidates running in the race by reading their individual candidate profiles, here.

Orland School District 135 candidates are James Bax, Nichole M. Browner, Elizabeth Jobb, Francis Lattyak, Alan L Kastengren and Eamon Walsh. Read into the candidates more here.

Library Board

Four candidates have filed to run for the Orland Park Public Library Board this election. Two board members are up for re-election at the library,Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad and Christian J. Barcelona. Leafblad is the current president of the board of trustees. Barcelona is the immediate past president, and now serves as the vice-president.

The challengers hoping to claim those positions on the board include Mohammed Jaber, and Jamie K. Makuch.

Register To Vote

On Election Day, voters who are not registered to vote can register and vote at their home precinct only. Find your home precinct using the voter information tool. Voters planning on registering to vote or updating their address on Election Day must bring two pieces of identification to register, one with a current address.

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