Pekau removes Mayor Owens’ name from Village Hall sign
In a pure act of pettiness, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has removed the name of Frederick T. Owens from the signs in front of the Village Hall, for which the Village Hall has been named, without any public discussion or notice. In its place, Pekau has placed his own name on several of the Village Hall complex signs. The late Mayor Owens was one of the most respected officials in Orland Park,
By Ray Hanania
In an act of pure personal pettiness that reflects the polarization that is harming this country, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau has hit a new low in his beleaguered and controversy-plagued iron rule, removing the name of a predecessor Mayor Fred Owens from Village Hall.
Orland Park Village Hall was named in honor of Frederick T. Owens in 1993, a year after his death as a tribute to the professionalism and contributions he made to making the suburb one of the region’s best.
It was a popular move welcomed by the residents, back when residents had a voice in local government, unlike today under Pekau where independent voices are reviled ad ridiculed. Pekau has to control everything. He doesn’t believe anyone else has a right to express an opinion about Orland Park’s future and he has eliminated the board’s independence.
Owens was one of the most beloved mayors Orland Park had. He has one of the most pleasant personalities, even when you disagreed with him.
I moved into Orland Park in 1986, and covered Chicagoland politics including Orland Park where i lived beginning in 1986, for the Daily Southtown. Owens, who was elected trustee in 1979, served as mayor from 1985 until 1992, when he died. He was one of the best.
Owens brought a smile to everything he did. He turned government into a public service and never turned to the political poison that you see in many other places, including in Chicago.
Under Owens, his policies reenforced an atmosphere that made Orland Park a great place to live, building on the foundation set by his predecessor Melvin Doogan, (1965 to 1985), and creating an atmosphere that helped his successor Dan McLaughlin strengthen the village’s economic base.
Of course, there were some controversies, but nothing of major significance. Most importantly, even when we disagreed, Mayor Owens like Doogan and McLaughlin who both had pleasant personalities that reflected well on Orland Park’s image, so very different from the petty angry atmosphere created by Pekau’s often vicious personal attacks at anyone who dares to questions his government, taxpayer-funded actions.
You have to wonder what incident marred Pekau’s personality growing up as a child in this region. Was it that his father, who served as an undistinguished trustee for a few years until 1975, didn’t get the recognition that the son believes he deserved?
Or maybe Pekau’s personality is so weak and insecure he can’t handle the fact that so many people admire his predecessors far more than him. Pekau knows that while Doogan, Owens and McLaughlin will be remembered for the positive changes they ushered in to strengthen Orland Park, the name Pekau will always be associated with angry, vicious politics of conflict, controversy and personal vindictiveness.
Pekau has viciously attacked me in the past who raising questions about his many embarrassing missteps, like when he spent half of his time at the Orland Chamber making up vicious personal lies about me to deflect from his failures and sweetheart deals with developer Ramzy Hasan.
Or, maybe Pekau just hates the fact that people loved Owens, but not him, or that under Owens, everyone was respected and their views were considered, weighed and encouraged.
In removing Owens’ name from the sign in front of Orland Park’s Village Hall, he added his own name to two other signs at the two entrances on Ravinia. Pekau puts his name on everything because he’s insecure about his leadership. Dictators do that all the time, to make up for their failed and uninspired leadership.
It’s also possible that Pekau just hates the Owens family, which has served this community for so many years and so well.
It was Mayor Owens that established the Village Manager system of government, that Pekau tried to destroy in a power grab that he lost last year in April 2023. (See below in Owens profile.)
Not surprisingly, the Owens family backed keeping the Village Manager system in place. Their support was critical in the landslide rejection of Pekau’s power grab. Click this link for an interview with Karie Friling on the failed Pekau referendum.
Hasn’t Orland Park had enough of Keith Pekau yet? Hasn’t Pekau embarrassed our community so much that people scratch their head when they wonder what he is up to?
It is so sad to watch as a beautiful place like Orland Park is transformed from a welcoming family-driven suburb into a personal political fiefdom for a megalomaniac tyrant like Pekau.
If Pekau had any self-respect, he would put Owens’ name back on the Village Hall sign, restoring one of the few remaining positive images that reminds us all of the greatness that Orland Park that Pekau has worked hard to erase.
There are no depths to Pekau’s political depravity, no boundaries to his endless affronts.
Residents of Orland Park should send an email to Pekau at the new “Pekau Village Hall” and complain about this change.” Click this link to contact the Village Manager.
Profile Brief of the late Mayor Fred Owens
Frederick T. Owens was a teacher at Hubbard High School, 6200 S. Hamlin Ave., in Chicago for more than 30 years before retiring in 1991. Click for his obituary.
He died Sunday, May 3, 1992 at Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights.
Owens was known throughout the region for his outgoing personality and quick sense of humor.
Owens was elected an Orland Park village trustee in 1979 and was re-elected in 1983. He was elected mayor in 1985 and was re-elected in 1989.
Prior to being elected to the village board, Owens served on the Orland School District 135 Board of Education. He also founded a cooperative group of homeowners’ associations in Orland Park. His first elected office was to the Evergreen Park High School District 231 Board of Education.
Owens led the effort to bring Lake Michigan water to Orland Park and initiated the ban on ”happy hour” promotions by Orland Park bars and taverns. The ordinance was used as a model throughout the state, and he received the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists Award as a result. His efforts as founder and president of the Argonne Regional Consortium helped lead to the Argonne region being designated a ”High Tech Corridor of Opportunity.”
As a village trustee, Owens led the effort to professionalize village government with the referendum to adopt the village manager form of government in 1983 and as mayor oversaw the development of the award-winning Orland Park Village Center Complex in 1989.
A recognized authority on Chicago history, Owens regularly volunteered to lead tours to the city for the Orland Historical Society and other groups.
His academic training included extensive postgraduate work and he held a master`s degree in geography. He taught social studies at Hubbard and ran a unique museum focusing on the economic and political history of Chicago and the local area.
He was past assistant superintendent of Cook County Public Schools and served as director of legislative research for the Illinois State Office of Education.
Owens lost a valiant battle with cancer in 1992 dying in office at the age of 54 on May 3, 1992 during the village’s Centennial Celebration.
His ledger style grave at St. Michael Cemetery at 159th Street and Will-Cook Road includes a 1984 quote when Owens said, “If I’m ever to leave a mark, I want to be remembered for the role I played in shaping one of the most dynamic communities in the state – Orland Park.”
On February 1, 1993, the Village of Orland Park Board of Trustees voted to name the village hall in his memory, designating the building as the Frederick T. Owens Village Hall.
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(Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist. This column was originally published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)
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