Pekau Moves To Repeal New Ethics Rules At Monday's Board Meeting

ORLAND PARK, IL — Mayor Keith Pekau will be asking a new board tonight to repeal an ethics ordinance trustees passed last month, one that he opposed. He was the only one to vote against the measure.

He will be doing it at a meeting where three newly elected trustees from a slate he founded will be sworn in, a move that could swing his proposal in his favor.

That has left other board members questioning Pekau's motives for scheduling the vote during a meeting traditionally reserved for ceremony and welcoming, one that typically is light on official business.

"The mayor in his report says he wants to repeal an ordinance that was approved with his dissent. Now, they will be voting to repeal an ethics ordinance at their first meeting," said trustee Kathleen Fenton."I think people really need to be questioned about why, on their first night, these new trustees are being presented with repealing the ethics ordinance."

The ordinance, passed April 1, requires village officials to fill out disclosure forms that list real estate or business interests that could pose conflicts of interest in their roles as representatives of Orland Park. It prohibits officials from accepting gratuities and gifts, using village information to support their private interests and hire employees with "close" relationships to other elected officials and supervisory staff. It includes a code of conduct for anyone representing the village, creates a process for filing complaints and sets fines for offenders.

At the time, Pekau opposed the measure because he said it was too vague and could be used as a political weapon by trustees running for office.

On Monday, he bolstered his argument by producing 17 letters from members of planning and economic advisory commissions who threatened to quit if the ordinance is not repealed. The commissioners, who are volunteers, argued that the process was too onerous or an invasion in their private lives. Pekau redacted the names on each of the letters.

He is expected to request a new committee to rewrite the rules.

Last month, former trustee Carole Griffin Ruzich said the village already had an ordinance and trustees decided to update it to put "teeth into it."

Orland patterned its ethics code after the one Tinley Park officials use. State law also requires municipal officials to file financial disclosure statements with the county.

"There's nothing nefarious about it," she said in early April. "It’s a big step in increasing transparency."

Ruzich, who is credited with developing the ordinance, lost her seat in the April 2 elections. Two other trustees stepped down. The three new board members who will take office tonight, William Healy, Cynthia Nelson Katsenes and Michael Milani, are members of the People Over Politics party founded by Pekau. They vowed to "end political games."

Fenton said that she believed that anyone serving on a commission, particularly one that deals with financial contracts or interests, should disclose potential conflicts of interest. Planning and economic advisory committees play critical roles in those areas, she pointed out.

"Why would anyone want to repeal this?" she said.

Orland's board of trustees and some residents have criticized Pekau for questionable ethical behavior. Last month, the mayor was embroiled in a battle with Orland Republican Committeewoman Liz Gorman over memberships at Crystal Tree Country Club, which has a tradition of waiving membership fees for mayors and other office holders. He accused her of, among other things, "hypocritical" behavior because she accepted the gift when she was in office. Gorman and others pointed out that Pekau had been an equity member for a long time before he took office. When he learned about the honorary membership, "he resigned and demanded a free one," which many said was unsavory behavior for a mayor.

During a January public meeting, trustee Michael Carroll said that a list of village vendors Pekau requested was used to build a mailing list to solicit political donations from them. He also accused the mayor of campaigning for his slate of candidates during an official village ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It is those types of behavior that the trustees want to address, Carroll and others have said.

Pekau did not return calls for comment.

The board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the village hall at 14700 Ravinia Avenue.