Over the last couple of weeks there have been a lot of developments in and around Orland Park – mostly about school re-openings. 

Since that is the most pressing issue of today, I will talk about the special meeting we held on Friday August 6th first.  We held this meeting to pass a resolution that again encouraged the Illinois General Assembly to convene to address COVID-19 and oppose the governor’s mandates.  Specifically, the board of trustees called for the Illinois General Assembly to:

  1. end its abdication of responsibility and reconvene and exercise its authority to legislate regarding COVID-19
  2. reexamine the governor’s mandate to require universal masking in schools an allow parents with advice from their pediatricians to make masking and vaccination choices for their children
  3. reexamine the governor’s executive orders and provide for fact-based mitigation measures
  4. afford adequate due process for any municipal corporation, any individual or any business in the State of Illinois to appeal restrictions or orders based on their individual circumstances
  5. significantly enhance efforts to protect vulnerable populations in long-term care facilities
  6. require the governor and executive branch to increase transparency by providing to the general public the data, models and assumptions used as part of its pandemic response decision making

I gave an update on the latest COVID data and all of the trustees had excellent comments.  You can watch the video of all of these comments and the data as of last Friday here Village of Orland Park, Illinois Live Stream – YouTube.
 
Earlier in the week we had a liquor hearing regarding Riviera.  Prior to the meeting the owner of the Riviera relinquished his liquor license and business license.  I explained to the crowd that many people appear to have been the victim of fraud including the owner of the Riviera.  We also made extra officers available at the police department so that everyone could file a criminal complaint.  Unfortunately, there is little the village can do other than investigate the complaints so that criminal charges can be filed.  Additionally, any victims can take legal action in civil courts.  We also closed the Riviera for multiple violations once we were made aware of the situation.
 
We also held a Committee of the Whole meeting and Board meeting on August 2nd. The agenda was light.  However, we approved a bidder for tennis court and basketball court resurfacing. Tennis court resurfacing will include striping for pickle ball courts. We received only one bid which is not ideal, but staff indicated that the bid was in line with the low bid from the previous year.  The reason only one bid was received is that other provider would be unable to complete the work this year because of their backlog. 
 
We also approved the therapy dog program for the police department.  This trained emotional support dog will live at the police station and will be used to assist victims and officers in times of trauma.  There is very little cost for the program and donations have already exceeded our total cost and will be used to care of the dog and to donate to the program where the train the dogs in California.
 
Lastly, we approved a few routine budget amendments.  However, we also declined to approve a budget amendment for an internship program.  The board unanimously indicated support for such a program but also felt that we needed it be more fully developed before we would approve it.  We also agreed that it should be part of next year’s budget process. 
 
I also made comments about the mask mandates prior to the governor’s actions. You can hear those here. 
 
We also had a great weekend at the Taste of Orland.  The crowds for Friday and Saturday night were huge.  Sunday was a challenge due to the weather, but there were several people who stuck it out.  Thank you to those who attended and supported our businesses.
 
This afternoon and evening we will have a concert in our Centennial Park West concert series.  The Fabulous Thunderbirds will open, followed by Mark Farner and the Great American Band, and the headliner will be Blue Oyster Cult.  The gates open at 3:30 and you can bring in your own food and alcohol.  Tickets are on sale and can be purchased on site.  The concert begins at 4:30 pm.  I hope to see you there.  

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