* 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.