Oak Lawn First Slate Files First For April 2021 Election

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn First Party candidates are hoping for a drama-free election in April 2021, which could be the first uncontested village board races since the early 1980s.

The slate, headed by mayoral contender Terry Vorderer, and his running mates submitted their nominating petitions on the first day of candidate filing at Oak Lawn Village Hall.

In addition to Vorderer, the Oak Lawn First slate includes clerk candidate Claire Henning, incumbent trustees Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2). Tom Phelan (Dist. 6) and Jamie Pembroke, who is running for Vorderer’s seat in the fourth district.

Mayor Sandra Bury announced in the fall that she will not be seeking a third term; and Clerk Jane Quinlan is retiring.

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So far, no other candidates have filed to run in the Oak Lawn Village Board races. Candidates have until Dec. 21 to file their paperwork.

Vorderer is a lifelong resident of Oak Lawn, Vietnam War veteran and the village trustee for Dist. 4.

“Oak Lawn has been my community,” Vorderer said. “I was raised here, my siblings have been raised here, I’ve been part of the St. Germaine Parish for decades. I raised my kids here. I want to bring my skills and history to the future of Oak Lawn.”

He brings 35 years of experience as an officer for the Oak Lawn Police Department. Vorderer rose through the ranks retiring as deputy chief of patrol.

“I will bring my police experience to work with our police department to maintain our community as a safe environment,” Vorderer said. “I always believe that if we lost the security of our community, we’ve lost our community.”

On the Oak Lawn First slate’s radar is continuing to pay down the village’s unpaid pension debts, or liabilities, to ensure the village can pay its future pension obligations.

“We have made every effort as a board to deal with our pension liabilities, which have been neglected for 30 years by previous boards,” Vorderer said. “We’ve taken $10 million annually out of the general operation fund to properly fund our pension obligations and attempt to solve the problem. I want to continue doing that.”

Taking out a low interest bond to pay down pension liabilities is under consideration, which Vorderer claims would free up money for other village services without raising residents’ property taxes.

“There’s a lot to be explored and a lot to work on,” Vorderer added. “I think I have that ability to do that with my fellow elected official and our village employees to solve some of these problems.”

The Oak Lawn First slate would also like to turn a blighted, underdeveloped section of Southwest Highway between 95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue into a medical corridor.

“We have a plan to steer as much medical use as we can to Southwest Highway,” Vorderer said. “For some reason Southwest Highway from Western Avenue to LaGrange Road has never attracted much retail.”

Vorderer is also hopeful about the village quickly regaining its economic footing when the pandemic ends, which may not be until fall 2021.

“I see Oak Lawn as becoming a very desirable place to invest money with demands for real estate and property in Oak Lawn to build business,” Vorderer said. “I think some of this has been put on hold because of the virus. There is a lot of interest and things coming on board to keep Oak Lawn economically viable.”

Every other year in odd-numbered years, voters select candidates for local jurisdictions, such as municipalities, school boards and municipal park and library boards.