South Cook News

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau was the lone dissenter on a 6-1 vote by the village board to extend manager Joe LaMargo’s three-year contract for a year and increase his severance from six months to nine.

“He (LaMargo) is not even a year into his contract,” Pekau told South Cook News. “He hasn’t even had a performance review. I don’t know anywhere else that would do it this way.”

LaMargo’s $165,000 annual contract with the village started in September 2017. The August 20 vote by the board extends it to September 2021.

Jim Dodge

“The extension takes him five months into the next mayor’s term,” Pekau said. “I think that’s completely inappropriate.”

Pekau also said that he found out about the deal just a few minutes before the meeting on Aug. 27 – a deal that he said LaMargo himself proposed to the board.

Village Trustee Jim Dodge, the Republican candidate for Illinois Treasurer, said that he was OK with LaMargo’s extension when it was presented to him by the other board members.

“We are under the same pressure as most municipalities with the pensions crowding out other services and with mandates from the state,” Dodge said. “Joe has done a great job of identifying where we can save money. His efforts will show up in future budgets.”

Dodge further said that the nine-month severance deal is in line with the arrangement the village had with the prior manager. LaMargo receives no severance if he’s fired for cause.

Since his election in April 2017, Pekau has instituted numerous operational changes and cost-saving measures in the village.

In a recent “Mayor’s Update” to village residents, he noted that he has opted out of the pension system “as I believe all elected officials should.”

He has increased transparency by instituting audio recordings of board meetings and the streaming of the live meetings on Facebook. Other changes include: the sharing of financial projections; removing some topics from the consent agenda (grouping of items before that board that can be considered with one vote) for public discussion; and the holding of numerous special meetings for discussion of the budget, gaming and other high priority issues.

Pekau is a U.S. Air Force veteran and business consultant.