Orland Leaders' Ethics Questions Persist While Village Fixes Code

ORLAND PARK, IL — An ethics complaint filed against Orland Park's mayor and police chief has languished unresolved for months because the village has no system in place to handle it. However, a new ordinance that would outline the steps officials should take to investigate such complaints is one step closer to making it to the board of trustees for approval.

The issue is one that has dogged Mayor Keith Pekau throughout his term. Members of Orland's board of trustees and other residents have criticized Pekau for questionable ethical behavior regarding his Crystal Tree Country Club membership, which has a tradition of waiving fees for mayors and other office holders.

Pekau accepted an "honorary" membership from the club and has not ended his relationship with it. This poses a conflict of interest for him, his critics charge, because as liquor and gaming commissioner, he has the power to approve or deny licenses and waive requirements for operations such as Crystal Tree that want to do business with the village. Accepting gifts, at the least, gives an appearance of impropriety, his critics argue.

The debate over whether he or any Orland official should accept the gift came to a head during this year's election season. It also became a key issue in the board's fight over its own ethics ordinance. In May, after a slate backed by Pekau was voted into office, trustees repealed an ethics ordinance, modeled after Tinley Park's, that had been passed one month earlier because they found it too restrictive.

The issue resurfaced in June after resident Michael Henry, a former Pekau supporter, filed an ethics complaint with the village. In his emailed complaint, Henry alleged that Pekau and Police Chief Tim McCarthy violate the state's gift ban act because they accepted the Crystal Tree memberships. Although the gifts were free, he wrote, they hold monetary value of thousands of dollars and clearly violate state statues.

Village Manager Tom Dubelbeis and village attorneys E. Kenneth Friker and Dennis Walsh did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the complaint.

Pekau, who responded to Patch through a public relations firm the village hired to improve its reputation, wrote: "I have not violated the State of Illinois Gift Ban and, to my knowledge, there have been no complaints filed against me related to the State of Illinois Gift Ban."

McCarthy said he was made aware of concerns about his membership four or five months ago.

"I went to our attorney, Ken Friker, to get an opinion on it, and he said it's a borderline type of thing," McCarthy said.

Friker, he added, explained to him that office holders and judges in other jurisdictions sometimes accept honorary gifts. "But he said 'to err on the side of caution, I would say you have to pay.' So I went to Crystal Tree and paid the dues and I pay every month," McCarthy said.

Because the village's ethics ordinance was repealed, Orland does not have a complaint or review process and does not have an ethics officer. However, Walsh in the past has served in the role.

That could change soon. The committee tasked with rewriting the ethics ordinance met Tuesday night and is making progress, said member Carole Griffin Ruzich. Ruzich, a former trustee, led the development of the repealed ordinance and was asked to serve with the team revising it.

She said the committee is likely to recommend three major changes when they send a new ordinance to the board for approval. The old ordinance required an attorney to conduct confidential investigations into complaints and then release findings publicly. The new process calls for naming an ethics officer who will conduct initial reviews and a three-member commission that can review bigger issues.

Full yearly financial disclosures also will no longer be required. Instead, village officials will fill out a form listing conflicts of interest when they abstain from voting.

The third change involves managing nepotism. That has not yet been resolved, Ruzich said. She added that she believed final recommendations will be made to the board in the next month.

The state's gift ban, however, will be integral, as it was in past version's of Orland's ordinances, she and several trustees said. The Illinois gift ban prohibits state employees and elected officials and their immediate family members from accepting gifts from a range of people and entities, including organizations that want to do business with municipalities. "Gifts" is broadly defined and can include tangible things, such as cash, or intangible items, such gratuities, discounts, entertainment, hospitality, loans or forbearance.

"Just because something is free doesn't make it not a gift," said Chad Fornoff, executive director of the state's Executive Ethics Commission. "It's a thing of value and just because it isn't cash handed over to someone doesn't mean it doesn't have value."

What will happen with the complaint against Pekau and McCarthy is not yet clear.

Pekau, speaking through a public relations representative, explained that he first purchased an equity membership with voting rights in 2008. He said he is now an "honorary member" and offered what he said was a section of the club's bylaws that defines that role: The honorary membership "permits the designated users to have the same rights and privileges to use the Club Facilities as Regular Members, with the exception that neither the Company nor the designated users shall be obligated to pay any admission fee, dues or assessments to the Club. However, designated users are required to pay the same fees and charges for use of the Club Facilities as Regular Members. The Honorary Membership does not entitle the Company or the designated user to any equity ownership interest in the Club or voting rights and may not be transferred except to the Club."

Regular members, he added, "shall not pay greens fees, court fees or pool fees for use of the golf, tennis and pool facilities of the Club, but shall be required to pay golf cart fees."

Pekau wrote that he also maintained his ability to vote at the club: "Before being designated an Honorary Member, I paid the requisite admissions fee to obtain my original membership and have retained my equity ownership interest. Through that, I retain the right to vote on club matters."

Crystal Tree representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Honorary memberships are not listed on its website. Social memberships, such as the one McCarthy holds, carry an admission fee of $3,420 and monthly dues and food minimum requirements. Regular memberships, such as the one Pekau cited, have a $5,000 admission fee, monthly dues and other associated fees.