'State Has Failed Us': Orland Mayor Calls For Reopening Economy

ORLAND PARK, IL — For several weeks, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has pointed to the need to at some point "return to normal" following the initial outbreak of the new coronavirus and associated "stay-at-home" order issued in March by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. In his latest video, shared on village of Orland Park social media channels on May 14, Pekau makes it clear in his mind that the time for that is now.

"The reason for the stay-at-home order was to flatten the curve," he said. "Flattening the curve delays deaths but does not stop them."

Pekau said, initially in a similar video shared a week ago, that flattening the curve has "clearly been accomplished."

"We have flattened the curve and hospitals have plenty of resources available," he said, citing a claim that some hospitals have even had to furlough employees.

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Pekau also shared a graph showing hospitalization rates on a "steady decline" for the past month.

He points back to a call he was on with other mayors across Chicagoland two months ago that showed the Center for Disease Control has four "levers" when outbreaks of new diseases occur. The levers, he said, are morbidity, controlling the spread, protecting the healthcare system and the economic damage that results.

Even then, he said the focus was no longer on the first two, but on protecting the healthcare system from being overrun and saving the economy.

A depressed economy, he said can lead to problems that might be "worse than the pandemic," specifically mentioning suicide, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and the lack of health insurance coming from unemployment among others.

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"We must get the economy back to normal in order to save lives," Pekau said. "We can figure out how to have a vibrant economy by voluntarily continuing social distancing."

He said that even before all restaurants and other businesses in the state were ordered shutdown, many were voluntarily operating at half the capacity they normally would.

"The state has failed us on many levels," he said, moving on to another concern. "They have failed to protect its most vulnerable citizens."

To show this, Pekau pointed to Illinois Department of Public Health data that shows 48 percent of all coronavirus deaths statewide have been associated with long-term care facilities.

In Orland Park, he says that number is 100 percent.

Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan to reopen the economy is also flawed, the mayor said, in that it calls for either the development of a vaccine for the new coronavirus or 0 new cases to fully reopen.

"A vaccine is well over a year away if we ever have one," he said. "And 0 cases is entirely unrealistic."

Orland Park was one of the first Illinois municipalities to release a reopening plan, first detailing it in four phases before Pritzker extended his order throughout May.

Earlier this month, the village board of trustees adopted a resolution requesting the Illinois General Assembly meet to "articulate a reopening plan for the economy as quickly as possible with reasonable guidelines designed to promote the health and welfare of Illinois residents."

The resolution also states the pandemic has "caused severe economic hardship to the village and the residents of the village, through a significant rise in unemployment and a reduction in the economic activity."

"Orland Park residents and businesses should be allowed to return to normal," Pekau said in this week's video, which can be viewed in full here: