Orland Park Approves Single-Family Homes Investigation

ORLAND PARK, IL — The Village Board of Orland Park voted 4-2 to continue its investigation into village-purchased single-family homes dating back to 2004. The village will be entering a special counsel legal services agreement with the Aronberg Goldgehn law firm, rather than the original firm of Hervas, Condon & Bersani, according to village-provided records.

The initiative was first brought to the board in January, when Trustees Cynthia Nelson Katsenes and Michael R. Milani questioned the purchases of homes by the village between 2004 and 2016. At the time, Milani raised questions about several village purchased homes and why they were purchased.

At the end of the January discussion, Mayor Keith Pekau had three proposals for the next meeting for independent law firms to look into the following:

• Identify if and what rules, village ordinances, practices or procedures were not followed.
• Identify any potential, criminal actions for which a complaint should be filed.
• Identify all village property transactions.

Pekau asked for:

• A summary of the actions taken between acquisition and sale of these properties.
• Any recommended procedural changes to ensure complete transparency moving forward and recommended procedural changes to ensure best practices are followed for property acquisitions and sales.

Meetings later, officials asked staff members to reach out to law firms regarding an investigation of the purchases. Weeks following, a motion to table the investigation was made at a February meeting.

At the Monday evening meeting, Trustees James Dodge and Kathleen Fenton voted against the move, while Trustee Daniel Calandriello abstained from participating.

Trustee William Healy made the motion to swap the firms. When asked why, Healy told the board he has heard "some good, respectful things" about Aronberg Goldgehn.

Katsenes added that the firm was one the village reached out to prior to the tabled motion.

Related:

Orland Park Village Board Votes To Halt Investigation Decision | Orland Park, IL Patch