By Illinois Review
During Monday evening’s Village of Orland Park Board of Trustee meeting, Mayor Keith Pekau bragged about the attendance at last weekend’s free concert in the park – claiming there were “2,500 people at the last one,” as photos from concertgoers reveal that less than 50 were in attendance.
But Pekau wasn’t the only one grossly exaggerating the number of people in attendance at the concert, as fellow trustee and close ally of the embattled mayor Sean Kampas reported back during the village trustee meeting that, “I know it was enjoyed because of the sheer number of people who came out.”
Kampas was made infamous when he joined Pekau – riding shotgun in his vehicle to harass female Orland Fire Protection District candidates Angela Greenfield and Tina Zekich and their volunteers as they campaigned and knocked on doors in a local neighborhood just a week before the April elections.
It was reported by several witnesses that earlier in the day, the group of volunteers met at a local Starbucks – their usual meeting spot, to prepare for the day’s activities. But when they arrived, they were surprised to find Pekau and Kampas sitting at a nearby table, cups of coffee in hand, staring at the group and eavesdropping on their conversations – even accusing the off-duty firefighters of engaging in political activities, even though they were volunteering during personal time off.
When the group left, Pekau and Kampas followed them out of the coffee shop – trailing them in Pekau’s Dodge Durango as they headed to a nearby neighborhood to knock on doors and drop off literature.
Although Pekau and Kampas never got out of the car, numerous witnesses said the pair continued to follow the group – staring at them through the car windows in a sad attempt at intimidating the group of volunteers who were campaigning on behalf of candidates that they opposed.
And during community events throughout Orland Park, Kampas, an IT consultant, is often seen wearing an official Orland Park Police Emergency Services polo with an official police badge attached to his belt – giving the impression that he is a member of law enforcement.
In Illinois, it is unlawful to impersonate a police officer, and a Class 4 Felony, punishable by up to three years in jail and $25,000 in fines.
Pekau has recently implemented a wildly unpopular new sales tax that surpasses Democratic-controlled Chicago’s sales tax, to help pay for a variety of his initiatives, including a $10 million concert stage at Centennial Park West.
Reports suggest that the price tag for the concert stage is closer to $16 million – but Pekau continues to claim that it won’t cost any more than $10 million to $12 million to build.
However, if the attendance at free concerts is any indication of the lack of interest and support – the idea of building a multi-million dollar concert venue where residents will have to pay for shows – seems like a concept that will be dead on arrival and a total waste of taxpayer money.
The embattled mayor remains incredibly unpopular, and the last several events he’s hosted around town have drawn extremely small crowds.
In March, Pekau hosted a town hall meeting to discuss his referendum to expand his power and influence on all village matters, with an estimated 15 people in attendance despite the room being set up for 100.
A few weeks later, Pekau would suffer humiliating defeats during the April election as residents resoundingly rejected his power grab dubbed as a “referendum” by a shocking 31 points.
But that wasn’t all. Voters also rejected Pekau’s slate of endorsed candidates, losing 9 out of 10 races – proving that an overwhelming majority of Orland Park residents rejected Pekau and anyone associated with the power-hungry and divisive mayor.
And while Pekau continues to attract incredibly small crowds – sources confirm to Illinois Review that the troubled mayor is still focused on launching another congressional campaign to challenge Democrat-incumbent US. Rep. Sean Casten.
Last November, Pekau would lose the General Election to Casten by 10 points.
