Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

*** UPDATED x1 *** Suburban mayor who has fought repeatedly against virus protection measures will run for Congress against either Casten or Newman

Friday, Nov 19, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* May 8, 2020…

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has called for his community to reopen faster than is outlined as part of Governor JB Pritzker’s plan.

He says it just can’t wait.

“The governor’s plan would not allow restaurants to reopen until at least June 26. Frankly, most of our small, family-owned restaurants will not survive that long,” Mayor Pekau said.

Mayor Pekau posted video on social media Thursday. The village said that it may lose $2.7 million this year in sales tax revenue because of COVID-19 restrictions, so it has laid out its own plan to reopen businesses at a faster pace.

* More from that video…

Pekau said Pritzker’s plan is based off “weird science” and has used an “asinine display of logic” in his guidance to restart the state after COVID-19’s peak.

The video is here.

* May 18 of last year…

Trustees in Orland Park could vote Monday to seek legal action against the state if businesses and “civic life” aren’t reopened in Illinois by June 1.

* Not long after he posted that video…

Less than one week after Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau used taxpayer monies to file a vague and unclear lawsuit against Gov. Pritzker demanding that COVID-19 restrictions be eased, the coronavirus struck close to home.

According to sources, an employee in the Village Manager’s Office at Orland Park Village Hall has tested positive for Coronavirus.

Although this is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 at Orland Park’s Village Hall – other government agencies have reported cases – Pekau’s high profile publicity, his demand restrictions be eased, and his taxpayer-funded lawsuit against Gov. Pritzker’s coronavirus plan has made Orland Park the symbol of a growing movement of people who believe the virus is more of a myth than a threat.

* And then a judge dismissed efforts by the village to obtain a TRO in August…

A federal lawsuit filed by the Village of Orland Park against Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been denied by the U.S. District Court of Northern District of Illinois.

The lawsuit – which was filed in June by the Village, an Orland Park restaurant and two Orland Park residents – claimed the governor’s executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic violated the U.S. Constitution, Illinois Constitution and the Public Health Act.

However, in an opinion filed on Aug. 1, Judge Andrea R. Wood denied the Village’s motion, stating the “plaintiffs have a negligible likelihood of success on the merits of those claims.” Wood also wrote that the “plaintiffs have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of any of their federal claims based on traditional constitutional analyses.”

* But Mayor Pekau persisted. He finally had to face reality in October of last year…

The federal lawsuit filed by the Village of Orland Park against Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been dropped, records show.

After months of discussion and investigations, the dismissal of the case on Tuesday did not give an explanation as to why the village decided to voluntarily drop the lawsuit. Mayor Keith Pekau, reached by phone Friday morning, said “it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It was pretty clear that [the judge] was going to say that we don’t have standing in a federal court and take it back to a state court, which obviously costs a ton of money… when it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re open,” Pekau said, adding that from August to now, the village has spent “almost no money” on the case.

Also…

Trustee Dan Calandriello, who was opposed from the start to the litigation, said the consensus during Monday’s closed-door session was drop the matter.

“The feeling was it was time to finish this thing,” he said.

Calandriello, who is an attorney, said he believes the total legal bill for Orland Park will be about $70,000 and was critical of the expense at a time when municipal revenues have been affected due to the pandemic.

“At the end of the day this was not productive,” he said.

* Sept. 8 of this year…

The Village Board of Orland Park voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve a resolution that opposes Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate and any vaccine mandate against COVID-19. […]

Pekau went on to state that Illinois has been under a state of emergency for 600 days, during which time the governor had issued 97 executive orders. “These are the actions of a dictator,” the mayor said.

* Ted Slowik in the Daily Southtown around the same time…

I think it’s rather sad how some elected officials keep making the pandemic about politics rather than public health.

Leaders in Orland Park, for example, seemed incapable of discussing mask and vaccine mandates last week without criticizing Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“We’re ruling by fiat, and by one man, we’re not ruling by legislative action,” Mayor Keith Pekau said during a rambling, 25-minute diatribe at the Sept. 7 Village Board meeting. […]

Pekau refused to answer [WGN-AM’s Steve Bertrand’s] question about whether the mayor was vaccinated. […]

Pekau is hardly the only warrior for the aggrieved who seems like an opportunist using the pandemic to gain attention and score political points.

* Yesterday…

Mayor Keith Pekau is running for Congress in the 6th Congressional District, according to federal documents filed Monday.

The Orland Park mayor had not formally announced his candidacy as of Thursday afternoon, but registered Pekau For Congress as a committee under the Federal Election Commission Monday afternoon.

Currently, the 6th District is represented by Democratic incumbent Congressman Sean Casten. … Democrat Marie Newman [has announced she will run] against Casten in a primary contest. Pekau has registered to run as a Republican.

* Related…

* Illinois suffers highest COVID-19 caseload in two months, spikes in hospitalizations, positivity, deaths: ‘We are in a surge’

*** UPDATE *** Media advisory…

WHO: Mayor Keith Pekau

Special Guests: Jeanne Ives and Other Local Leaders

WHAT: Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has fought career politicians and the radical left to help his hometown put “people over politics.” Now, he’ll take that fight to the halls of Congress. Pekau will formally announce his campaign for the 6th Congressional District at a local small business.

WHEN: Monday, November 22 at 10:00am
Press can arrive at 9:30am to set-up.
WHERE: Alexander Equipment Co., 4728 Yender Ave, Lisle, IL 60532

WHY: Keith Pekau is the common sense, local leader 6th District residents need in Washington to take on the extreme politicians. His record of results stands in stark contrast to the failed far-left politics of Marie Newman, Sean Casten, and Nancy Pelosi.

EXTRA: Pekau’s public Campaign Kick-Off Event is that evening (November 22nd) at 5:30pm at Fox’s Pizza & Irish Pub in Orland Park.

21 Comments

Lots of land mines in this post

Friday, Nov 19, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Mike Miletich…

The Illinois State Board of Education hopes to approve a new rule that would further cement Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive order mandating that Illinois teachers, staff and school contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19 or go through weekly testing to be inside schools. […]

Under the proposal, teachers and other staff could still be exempt from getting the vaccine if they have a medical issue or strongly held religious beliefs. However, the proposed rule could allow schools to require unvaccinated staff to get tested twice per week if there is a COVID-19 outbreak. Schools could also bar staff from entering buildings if they have any COVID-19 symptoms. […]

Not all ISBE board members were happy with proposal. ISBE member Roger Eddy, a former state lawmaker and head of the Illinois Association of School Boards, said the board shouldn’t use rule-making to overrule the subject of multiple court cases.

“I think that allowing the courts, as one of the three branches of government, to weigh in on this would be a far more prudent way to proceed at this time,” Eddy said.

There was a time when Republicans opposed activist judges dictating policy rather than trying to get the policy right to begin with.

I mean, seriously, since when do members of a state board vote to abdicate their authority to slightly change some rules to the whims of judges?

* Let’s move along to this from last month…

The National School Boards Association has apologized to its members for its letter last month to President Joe Biden in which the group sought federal help in countering threats, harassment, and violence targeting school officials and said that some of the actions could be classified as “domestic terrorism” or hate crimes.

In a Friday letter to NSBA members, the group stated that while the safety of its members and schools in general was its top priority, “There was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance.”

Lots of Facebookers were sure up in arms about that.

* So, I was a bit surprised that the state’s Republican congressional delegation minus Adam Kinzinger waited until late yesterday afternoon to issue this press release…

Today, Congresswoman Mary Miller (IL-15) led a letter with members of the Illinois Congressional delegation urging the Illinois School Boards Association to withdraw from the National School Boards Association.

On September 29, 2021, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the Biden Administration asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to treat concerned parents, advocating for their children peacefully, as “domestic terrorists.”

“Parents should never be treated as domestic terrorists for showing up at school board meetings to advocate for their kids,” Miller said. “Many school boards across the country are trying to force racist Critical Race Theory, a perverted sexual education curriculum, and transgender policies that are harmful to teenage girls. We must empower the role of parents in their children’s education, and we hope that the Illinois School Boards Association will withdraw from the National School Boards Association.”

The Illinois School Boards Association (ISBA) plans to meet today and discuss their continued involvement with the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

“The FBI is still “tagging” parents they deem threatening at school board meetings,” Miller said. “I believe that Illinois parents and families should play a central role in their children’s education, not the federal government.”

Not over the top at all. Also, it’s the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). The full letter, which has the name right, is here. The press release was sent after the IASB meeting ended, by the way.

* I reached out early this morning to IASB Executive Director Thomas Bertrand for comment. His reply…

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your email.

On 10/20/21 I sent a message to IASB members that stated that IASB is currently not a dues paying member of NSBA. Last year the IASB Board of Directors suspended membership in NSBA (for this year) because of concerns that have persisted over time with the national organization. The IASB Board affirmed that decision yesterday at its regularly scheduled board meeting.

So, the letter was not only too late, it was unnecessary. Click here for the press release issued by the IASB.

* From that October letter…

The Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) supports school board members in their civic duty to represent their community and provide quality educational opportunities for all students of the district. The letter to President Biden was sent without the knowledge or input from the state associations that NSBA represents. While the letter drew attention to reports of physical and verbal threats made at some publicly held school board meetings, including isolated incidents here in Illinois, the incendiary language used in it detracted from that message.

This is not the first disagreement that IASB has had with NSBA. Prior to this incident the IASB Board of Directors was evaluating its relationship with NSBA. IASB previously expressed concerns to NSBA about problems related to governance, transparency, and financial oversight. IASB suspended payment of dues to NSBA for 2021-2022, and sought to address these concerns through changes to the governance structure of the national association.

* And, in other news, here’s an op-ed by Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich)…

In other words, the indoctrination is being implemented implicitly rather than explicitly and thanks to the actions of the Illinois State Legislature, it is only going to get worse. Illinois has embraced Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards, which encourages teachers to embrace woke ideology. Additionally, the Governor has signed Senate Bill 818, which requires schools to implement the National Sex Education Standards beginning in kindergarten. Students as young as 8 years old will now have curriculum that teaches them about masturbation and other sexually explicit material.

Add to this the willingness of the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Education Association to not only go along with the Governor’s overreaching school mask mandates but to encourage these mandates, and the wokeism in our schools is inescapable.

He sure likes that word “woke.” All-purpose.

If you want to know what’s really going on with Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards, click here for a reasoned, factual piece. And SB818 does not require all schools to do anything and parents can opt their kids out.

Some people just gotta be angry all the time. I don’t get it.

...Adding… Might as well throw this one on the pile…

(The Center Square) – As a group of schools continues to get court protection against punishment from the Illinois State Board of Education, another Illinois district is gearing up for a legal fight to make masks optional. […]

In Vandalia, School Board Vice President Joe Schall said the board was unanimous this week in returning to mask optional policies starting Dec. 6. […]

“Our budget is $100,000 for our tort, so we’re going to set up a trust,” Schall said. “There will be more details to follow, but if you feel necessary, if you feel compelled to donate to the cause as our legal bills may go over our budget, you are more than welcome to do that.”