Trustees Approve $4.5 Million Zeigler Lot, After $5k Donation

ORLAND PARK, IL — The Orland Park Board of Trustees unanimously voted in favor of moving forward with a sales tax inducement agreement with Zeigler Orland Park and AJZ-Orland Park, which are collectively known as the "Zeigler Parties." This decision comes one month after Zeigler donated $5,000 to the Keith for Mayor" campaign.

According to the Village Of Orland Park, the agreement will be to join existing Zeigler property with land at 10920 W. 159th St., Orland Park. The move will expand the Zeigler dealership, by adding a parking on 159th Street to store repair vehicles, along with new and used vehicle inventory.

This agreement is anticipated by the Village of Orland Park to cost no less than $4.5 million. The Village said if the project is not completed by Dec. 31, 2021, or on any other date that might be agreed on between The Village of Orland Park, Zeigler and AJZ, the deal will fall through, and neither parties will have any further obligations in regard to the development.

On Aug. 3, Zeigler Auto Group donated $5,000 to “Keith for Mayor,” a fund to provide money for the candidacy of Mayor Keith Pekau for President of the Village of Orland Park, according to Reform for Illinois Sunshine Database.

“If you look at the merits of this incentive deal, it makes sense and is similar to what we’ve done before,” Trustee Jim Dodge told Patch. “ It makes perfect sense… but the people of Orland Park need to see what they think of him taking this money. Is it legal? Yes. Keith is prospering by Mike Madigan's rules. This is all within the rules of Illinois politics…the people of Orland Park have to decide how they feel about it, come April.”

All board members voted in favor of this development, and are hopeful this will result in a $1 million incentive. See the Trustees discuss the development below at 23:25.

“One thing I found that was interesting was that Zeigler said 20 to 25 percent of their revenue was from Orland Park residents," trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes said at the board meeting. "The remainder were from out of town and people coming in shopping. I think it’s great to work with a business that has that big of a draw. That's bringing people from different communities into Orland Park, spending big money on cars and hopefully going to our stores and restaurants."

Katsenes added that the property the parking lot is on will not be easy to work with due to the wetlands in the area. “ For 147 parking spaces, he’s spending a lot of money," she said. "I hope we have more people like that doing business in Orland Park."

In regard to the development, Mayor Keith Pekau said, “We’ve talked about a lot of different potential solutions and this is a great one. BMW is solving a problem, and we’re just providing incentives that are performance-based. They sell more cars. They win, we win.”

For additional information on the new development, see the Board of Trustees' agenda for the Sept. 8 meeting.