Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau Calls Vaccine Order 'Unlawful'

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park mayor and Republican congressman hopeful Keith Pekau told Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in a letter he would not enforce the county's new proof of COVID-19 vaccination mandate come next month.

Pekau said public health officials have "yet to provide any data indicating that restaurants, indoor entertainment facilities, or gyms are the source of covid." He also called the new mandate, which is expected to go into effect Jan. 3, "unlawful."

Preckwinkle said the county was only moving in lockstep with the city of Chicago to target indoor venues where there is the greatest risk of spreading the coronavirus. She was joined by Cook County Department of Public Health officials.

"With the dual threat presented by the delta and omicron variants, and with cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising to new heights across Cook County, we must once again reassess and realign our strategies with what science is telling us and we must do what's necessary to protect our communities," Preckwinkle said Thursday at a news conference.

Pekau has rebuked mask and vaccine mandates in the past at the state level, once calling Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's use of state emergency orders "the actions of a dictator."

The order is mandated for all suburban Cook County towns except for Skokie, Evanston, Oak Park and Stickney Township, who all have their own municipal health departments. Pekau can choose not to enforce the order, however, as the Orland Park Police Department is not tasked with enforcing a countywide initiative.

In his letter, Pekau asked Preckwinkle for more data and "rationale" behind the decision. Specifically, the new IL-06 candidate asked for information such as how the county was able to determine businesses that do not serve food are a less significant source of COVID-19 spread and why the county chose Jan. 3 as the first day to enforce the mandate.

Pekau also asked county health officials which law gave local leaders the power to enforce the task of checking vaccine cards on businesses.

Under Illinois state law, local health departments can enforce codes and rules on businesses in the interest of mitigating or stopping the spread of infectious diseases.

"I have a village of nearly 60,000 residents to answer to, I don’t need extreme politicians in Cook County government telling me what is best for Orland Park," Pekau wrote in a statement.

Pekau told Patch the Orland Park Village Board will host a special meeting on Dec. 28 to discuss the order.