Orland’s Pekau rejects contract renewal for Village Manager George Koczwara
Controversy-plagued Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau will introduce a letter at Monday’s Village Board meeting (June 17, 2024) signed by him telling Village Manager George Koczwara that his contract cannot be renewed because it would be “unfair and inappropriate to allow an automatic extension” to tie the hands of “a future mayor or board.” Is Pekau not running for mayor, the rumor mill is asking?
By Ray Hanania
The Village of Orland Park will vote at its meeting on Monday, July 17, 2024, on a proposal from controversy-plagued Mayor Keith Pekau to reject a contract extension for Village Manager George Koczwara, according to the Village Board of Trustees agenda for the meeting.
Koczwara, who was hired by Pekau in October 2019 as the $170,000 a year village manager, was widely praised for his fairness and management style.
Praised for being able to work with all groups, local governments, community groups and agencies regardless of their political affiliations or political spats with the contentious Pekau, Koczwara’s rejection comes as a surprise to many.
The rejection proposal has raised speculation that Pekau may direct the board to appoint him as the new village manager after next year’s municipal elections.
After being elected mayor in 2017, Pekau received the $150,000 annual salary pushed through by former Mayor Dan McLaughlin. McLaughlin’s salary hike and pension demand sparked a protest from residents forcing him to lose to the unknown Pekau in the 2017 election.
During his first four years in office, Pekau received $600,000 as a consequence of the McLaughlin pay hike, but the salary reverted to its previous amount in 2021 of $40,000 a year as mayor and $36,000 a year as Village Liquor Commissioner.
The Orland Park Village President’s position is a part-time position and the village is run by a full time Village Manager.
The Village president’s office and the offices of the trustees are non-partisan positions, meaning non-political with no allegiance to any political party. Officials who served in the office including the trustee positions also set aside political views while on the village board.
Since becoming mayor in 2017, however, Pekau politicized the office advancing his far right conservative views and beliefs. Pekau also consolidated power by eliminating the open system of government bymerging all of the village’s independent committees into one “Committee of the Whole” that he directs.
Pekau often uses his village presidency seat at village board meetings as a bully pulpit to slander and attack anyone who questions or criticizes his one-man rule. When Orland Park residents address the board on issues that disagree with his beliefs, Pekau responds with harsh attacks, namecalling and invective.
Koczwara was appointed in September 2019 to the post of Village Manager, paid $170,000 a year plus benefits. His responsibilities were to run the day-to-day needs of the Village, but almost all decisions are made by Pekau.
Employees in June 2023, told the Chicago Tribune that Pekau’s. administration of the Village had created a “toxic environment for employees.” It took courage to stand up to Pekau’s bullying, but Koczwar was sent as the messenger to defend Pekau who refused to meet with employees to discuss the complaints.
Koczwara seemed to bring stability to the Village Manager’s office after a tsunami of controversy sparked by disagreements between the newly elected mayor Pekau and the former Village Manager Joe La Margo. After he was dismissed, La Margo filed a defamation lawsuit against Pekau that was rejected by the court on the basis that the issues were political and opinion on government actions and policies are exempt from defamation.
La Margo was replaced by former Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, then former village trustees Tom Dubelbeis. fueling a tumultuous period of controversy that Koczwara ended when he assumed the post.
The rumor mill in the village is speculating that Pekau will assume the post as Orland Park Village Manager after the next election, collecting the much higher salary. Pekau would be replaced by another board trustee, such as Sean Kampas, who was first elected as a trustee in 2021 and has been less contentious than Pekau’s other trustee allies on the board.
The rumors are being fueled by a line written by Pekau himself in the letter to Koczwara which reads, “Please be further advised that this action is being taken because the Mayor and Board believe that it is unfair and inappropriate to allow an automatic extension provision to tie the hands of a future Mayor and Board, as we discussed during your annual review.”
What does Pekau mean by “Future Mayor” other than maybe he won’t run and someone like Kampas will?
Ironically, it was reported last year by the Patch that Koczwara was being considered for a position as city manager in Janesville, Wisconsin.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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