Orland Park Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes said that an ad for congressional hopeful Scott Kaspar was 'reckless.' (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Orland board ready to throw Kaspar off of two committees
By Jeff Vorva
The Village of Orland Park Board of Trustees wants to bounce Scott Kaspar off of two committees.
Kasper said this is all political.
Board members say it is not.
At Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, the trustees voted to bring a resolution to the April 18 Board of Trustees meeting to remove Kaspar from the Police Pension Fund and Ethics committees after he “publicly attacked and disparaged the Village of Orland Park and specifically the Orland Park Police Department, which is improper and unbecoming of an individual appointed to those positions,” according to Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes.
Trustees voted 6-0 to bring the matter to the board and Mayor Keith Pekau abstained. Pekau and Kaspar are among a host of candidates running for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District in the June 28 primary election.
Kaspar was invited to the April 18 to speak before the board votes.
At issue was a video ad that Kaspar released on March 21 questioning Orland Park police statistics on crime.
“These statements were very damning and factually false,” Katsenes said. “We put people on our boards and commissions to look out for the best interest of Orland Park – the people they represent. His statements were very reckless.”
Late Monday night, Kaspar released a statement but did not say if he would be going to the April 18 meeting.
“Mayor Pekau is weaponizing and abusing his position as mayor to target political opponents,” he said in the statement. “I’m disappointed that Mayor Pekau and the board voted to forcibly remove me by a unanimous vote from the Police Pension Fund Board when my term expires in June.
“This smells of rotten, ugly politics.”
The video said that crime in Orland Park is out of control and statistics provided by the department were inaccurate.
Joseph Mitchell, who was the police chief until the end of the month when he retired and took the chief’s job in Wilmington, said at the March 21 village board meeting that the ad was “nonsense.”
“I want to set the record straight,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, do not feed into this nonsense devised by a person seeking an elected office. Our record speaks for itself.”
On Monday, trustees continued to defend the police department and insisted that Kaspar crossed the line with his ad and his potential ouster is not about politics.
“The Orland Park police should be held up as an example to the other offices in metropolitan Cook County,” Trustee William Healy said.
“For [Kaspar] to suggest that [past chiefs] Tim McCarthy and Joe Mitchell were lying about their statistics is pathetic,” added Trustee Sean Kampas. “I would note that no substantive information has yet been offered by the candidate to dispute any of Chief McCarthy or Chief Mitchell’s facts.”
Local News
Chicago Fire II to host Indy Eleven in U.S. Open Cup
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II continue winning in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They will be rewarded by hosting a third-round game against Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. April 17 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Entry to Fire II games are usually free; but tickets for the Cup match…
Red Stars to play in Summer Cup
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent When the NWSL season started, there was a gap in the schedule — created to accommodate international play — that left the Chicago Red Stars without a league game for most of July. But some extra games have been added, as the NWSL and Liga MX are participating in…
College Sports | Sidney Lovitsch is officially women’s hoops coach at SXU
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Sidney Lovitsch was named interim women’s basketball coach at Saint Xavier shortly before the 2023-24 season opened and got a trial year to work with. The trial was successful, as the school announced the interim tag has been dropped and Lovitsch is officially the Cougars’ head coach. SXU finished…
Area natives Kendall Coyne Schofield, Abbey Murphy representing at Women’s World Championship
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Local hockey legends Kendall Coyne Schofield and Abbey Murphy are back with the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2024 Women’s World Championship. Schofield, a Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate, is playing in the Worlds for the 10th time. Murphy, an Evergreen Park native and Mother McAuley graduate,…
Hockey gold-medalist Abbey Murphy among college athletes to strike NIL deal with White Sox
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Four college athletes who attended area high schools have been named CHISOX Athletes for 2024, an NIL initiative created by the Chicago White Sox. Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan (Marist), Minnesota hockey forward Abbey Murphy (Mother McAuley) and Illinois soccer player Yulexi Diaz (Solorio) are among the athletes…
Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR awards students
Spread the loveAt its February meeting, Swallow Cliff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, held its annual Youth Awards program to honor the DAR Good Citizens Award winners. Seven local high schools nominated outstanding seniors to be candidates for the DAR Good Citizens Award. To be eligible for this award, students had to…
Shepard welcomes alum as new band director
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Shepard High School welcomed on one of its own to fill the shoes of former band director, Christopher Pitlik. Kenneth George, a 2001 Shepard High School graduate, has been named the new Director of Bands at the high school, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, upon the retirement of longtime…
Palos Heights considers TIF district for business corridor
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly The Palos Heights City Council is considering creating a tax-increment financing district to generate funding to update the Harlem Avenue business district. Mayor Bob Straz discussed that during a wide-ranging State of the City address to the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce on March 26 in the Palos Heights Recreation…
Green Team of Palos Heights plans Clean Up Day
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Green Team of Palos Heights does just what its name implies and works hard to keep the city green and beautiful. “The mission of the Green Team is basically to raise awareness and educate the community about environmental efforts that protect and restore the environment in our community, recognizing…
Girls Soccer | Stagg, Reavis looking for more
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The final match of March for both Reavis and Stagg ended in a 0-0 draw on March 28 in Burbank. The Rams (2-4-1 entering this week) are led by third-year head coach Konrad Dziedzic. This season’s team captains include seniors Alaina Hernandez and Olivia Smcyz. “The captains play a…
Neighbors
State Senate advances bill to ban food additives linked to health problems
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Senate passed a bill Thursday that would ban four food additives that are found in common products including candy, soda and baked goods. Senate Bill 2637, known as the Illinois Food Safety Act, passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the House for…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead, a technician…
Education leaders seek added state funding to help districts accommodate influx of migrants
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The recent surge of international migrants arriving in Illinois has brought with it a host of new challenges for state and local officials. Those range from filling their most basic needs like emergency food, clothing and shelter, to more complex issues like lining them up with…
Capitol Briefs: Lawmakers, advocates again call for affordable housing tax credit
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com Housing advocates are renewing a push to fund a $20 million state affordable housing tax credit in the upcoming state budget. Supporters of the “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit Act,” modeled after a federal tax credit program, claimed it would result in over 1,000 affordable housing units being…
Solar investments take center stage as questions loom on state’s renewable future
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com BOLINGBROOK – A manufacturer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago received $2.6 million from electric utility Commonwealth Edison this week as part of a state program for generating its own electricity using solar panels and storing it in one of the largest batteries in the country. But even…
Advocates renew push to tighten firearm laws aimed at protecting domestic violence victims
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for stricter gun laws rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday for a measure aimed at protecting domestic violence victims and two other criminal justice reforms. The bills are backed by organizations such as Moms Demand Action and One Aim Illinois among others. “These policies support…
Komatsu mining truck named 2024 ‘coolest thing made in Illinois’
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A mining truck manufactured by Komatsu was crowned the winner of the 2024 “Makers Madness” contest, earning the title of “the coolest thing made in Illinois” at the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday. The truck was one of more than 200 entries in the 5th annual contest hosted…
Capitol Briefs: Pritzker appoints first-ever Prisoner Review Board director; Chicago advances migrant funding
By JERRY NOWICKI & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency. To fill the newly created position, the governor tapped Jim Montgomery, who most recently served as director of…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead,…
Illinois Senate advances changes to state’s biometric privacy law after business groups split
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court “respectfully suggest(ed)” state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that,…