Dan McLaughlin Is Running For Mayor of Orland Park, IL

This Patch article is sponsored by One Orland Party.

Dan McLaughlin is running for mayor of Orland Park, Illinois. Learn more about McLaughlin’s campaign, career and priorities in this exclusive Patch one-on-one:

Patch: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your campaign.

McLaughlin: I love Orland Park and I spent a good part of my life working to make this a premier community. My wife jokingly says the village is our fifth child, so it's important for me to see Orland Park get back on track and to help the village prepare for the future and to reach its full potential.

I’m running because Orland Park is a great place to live but we’re straying off track. One of the most pressing concerns to address is public safety so we can get back to work and the normal we used to know before COVID. Orland Park residents care about their families. They want to feel safe and supported in their community — whether that’s navigating the health risks of a pandemic while supporting our local businesses or having resources and having answers about what the village is doing to address common concerns around crime, including knowing their police department is supported and there for every member of the community. I intend to keep public safety at the forefront of my intention to restore Orland Park’s economy post-pandemic by making sure the community is opening businesses and in person activities in a safe manner, enforcing a mask mandate to protect our most vulnerable community members and supporting our law enforcement and frontline workers at every turn.

There has also been a serious lack of real economic development causing a huge increase in vacancies throughout Orland Park. If we aren’t constantly attracting new and desirable businesses then we are falling behind. In addition, my opponent has no plans to address the development of the I-80 Corridor or the downtown, both of which are great opportunities to diversify our dependence on retail sales. Residents are frustrated that those projects are not complete and want to hear plans and solutions now. A number of solutions could be on the table, but the starting place should be bringing together community members and our law enforcement to hear concerns and talk through solutions so everyone can get on board.

Above all, the One Orland Party wants to provide Orland Park with united leadership that listens and responds to its residents, promotes transparency and is focused on solving problems. That means putting public safety first with strong support for our police, prioritizing our economic recovery by creating incentive programs for small businesses and reinstating development of our community and rooting out corruption and increasing transparency in Orland Park.

Patch: Tell us about your career and service in Orland Park.

McLaughlin: In the 24 years I served as mayor, we brought in countless businesses and $700 million in infrastructure and municipal buildings to better serve our citizens — including a new police station. We provided spaces for families like numerous parks and the Centennial Park Aquatic Center. We balanced the budget all 24 years while rebating almost $40 million to our citizens and building our reserve (rainy day) fund to almost $30 million. We gave residents money back almost every year I was in office (with the exception of the difficult years we faced during the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009).

For the voters who knew me in the past as their mayor, I hope they saw me as both a mayor and a neighbor; as a mayor that brought positive changes to Orland Park like new and improved roads and numerous new services and opportunities (like the Sportsplex and Fitness Center), and grew the economy to keep our taxes one of the lowest in the area. As mayor I prioritized making sure Orland Park was one of the safest communities in Illinois. I am proud to have grown our police department from 23 officers to 99, built a new high tech police station and supported our police with the newest equipment and training.

I am not a partisan politician and I hope to bring my experience together with a new generation of leaders on the One Orland slate to serve our community. I only want to bring whatever good ideas and policies will help Orland Park grow and my track records speaks to that. I look forward to continuing to build trust with all Orland Park residents so they know exactly who is representing their interests at village hall.

Patch: If you were to be elected, what would some of your top priorities/policies/changes be?

McLaughlin: My priority is to really hear residents’ concerns and address them straight on. In my many conversations with residents in the lead up to my decision to run for mayor, a number are a clear priority for them and therefore for me including:

• Getting us through this pandemic period by supporting small business and ensuring health and safety is prioritized in every step of re-opening up our economy and community.
• Completing the downtown development into a pedestrian friendly mixed-use development that our residents can be proud of and visit regularly.
• Continuing to build on my record supporting our Orland Park police department so they have the resources they need to do their job and our residents feel confident and safe.
• Improving the safety and image of Orland Square shopping center, reducing our commercial vacancy rate and getting the I-80 corridor development back on track.
• Having an open and inclusive policy at town hall so voters can both be heard and feel they have answers to their concerns.

Patch: What distinguishes you from other candidates?

McLaughlin: My team and I care about doing what’s best for Orland Park — so we get the financial support we need to support our local economy and schools, make Orland Park a safe and fun place to raise a family and run the village with fairness and transparency at every step.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your campaign?

McLaughlin: You can check out our website at OneOrland.com and read about some of the issues we’re fighting for. I’m also hosting regular Office Hours on Facebook Live where I answer questions from members of the community — you can always send our team an email at team@oneorland.com and we’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as we can.