First, our prayers are with Trustee Fenton as she remains in the hospital with an infection from a routine surgery.
The board meeting and committee of the whole were a bit more interesting this week. This is not a time to play politics but that is exactly what Trustee Calandriello decided to do. I am going to summarize the meeting, but you can listen to the committee of the whole and the board meeting for yourself here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfQpnWrTCkk. The committee of the whole is the first 20 minutes. There is a break and then the board meeting commences.
Two days before the agenda was due, Trustee Calandriello emailed our village manager, George Kozcwara and me asking that an item be put on the committee of the whole agenda to discuss his idea for short term relief for businesses. When that idea wasn’t workable, he asked for another, and then yet another. Clearly it was important to Trustee Calandriello to get “air time”.
Let me state for the record, we all care deeply about our businesses and the residents who pay taxes and patronize them. We are working diligently to provide resources that are sound and appropriate. To do that, we must focus on specific actions we can take to get through this pandemic, not on playing politics or giving platitudes to make it seem like we’re doing something.
At the committee of the whole, Trustee Calandriello brought NO specific ideas to the table. Instead, in summary, he stated that he cares deeply for the small businesses in town and he is passionate about this and we “need to do something now”. His version of “doing something” was to discuss ideas at the next board meeting. It was put to the board, and the board voted it down 5 to 1. In doing so, Trustee Dodge stated, “Mayor Pekau, I think we should work it the way we have been, Mayor Pekau, which is to flow ideas to you and George and keep working the problem”, which I believe accurately summarized every other trustee’s opinion.
Following my comments, Trustee Calandriello tried to force more discussion after the vote. I denied this attempt because it fell outside of the rules for the committee.
Trustee Calandriello did not end it there. Instead, at the main board meeting he chose to pontificate again during board comments. This time he escalated his comments by stating that he was “threatened” when bringing it to the board floor (presumably by me) and that George lied about 4 or 5 ideas that Trustee Calandriello had brought to him in the past (this is not accurate).
In summary, over the last month, our trustees, staff and commission members have brought us many ideas and we have quickly implemented those that were fiscally sound and actionable.
When something is voted down 5 to 1 in this manner, with almost no comment, the other board members are letting the trustee know that they are quietly rebuking their fellow trustee.
It is clear that Trustee Calandriello wanted an agenda item so that he could have the floor to grandstand and play political games. This, while everyone else on this board has been working as a team without worrying about accolades or “air time”. Shortly after the meeting, an opinion blogger and paid spokesman, who hasn’t commented on our board meetings in months, wrote an article that was highly fictional in support of Trustee Calandriello. This whole affair was an orchestrated political attack that tried to undermine the village, its manager, other trustees and its mayor.
Trustee Calandriello’s grandstanding and political games are nothing new. I have experienced it for three years starting with reviewing our volunteer commissions. Then it was the Pioneers, then it was trying to pass a restaurant tax (ironically, on the very businesses that he now purports “to care deeply for”), then on an entertainment tax and then the Pioneers again most recently. Also, as you may recall, he once went on a diatribe in board comments stating that I had destroyed the village’s reputation amongst many other comments that night.
This is a shameful display of politics in the middle of a health crisis, the likes of which we haven’t seen for over 100 years. As I have stated several times, one’s character isn’t developed at times of adversity, it is REVEALED.
During the remainder of the board meeting, we accomplished a lot. The ethics commission presented their final draft. It is outstanding work that will be an example for the state and other municipalities to follow. This ordinance not only demands the highest ethical standards but ensures the constitutional rights of all our board and commission members. The ordinance is posted on our website for public comments through next Wednesday. The village board will bring it for a final vote at the board meeting on April 20th. I want to thank Carole Ruzich, Kevin Scanlan, Sean Kampas, Ed Schussler and Bill Healy for their hard work and for taking the time to get this right.
The board also approved several development items that show how Orland Park is continuing its efforts to ensure its long-term success. These include:
- Yasani Jewelers is redeveloping the old sports memorabilia site on Orland Square Drive.
- The board approved a Cook County tax incentive for REI. REI will be occupying the old Staples building.
- The board approved another Cook County tax incentive to fill the Carson’s Home Goods space on Orland Square Drive.
The board continues to work on a long-term recovery plan as this crisis could last a long time. The federal government is distributing local relief funds through the state and county. Base on history, we need to assume that we will not receive any of that help and the state and county will keep the funds for themselves. The village cannot throw away our resources on programs that have little to no impact. It’s important not to squander resources that have little impact in the short term. We need to have those funds available for the recovery that will follow when things open back up.
I want to thank all those people working in essential businesses, stocking shelves and checking us out, etc. Thank you to our first responders for their outstanding efforts during this crisis. Also, a huge thank you to our medical professionals – doctors, nurses, etc. for their herculean efforts on the front line of this pandemic. Lastly, I want to thank all of you in Orland Park for doing a great job staying calm and for following the social distancing and hygiene recommendations. Because of you, our battle against his virus, hysteria and panic is more successful.
