South Cook News

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau is running for Congress to put an end to what he sees as "insane policies."

“I’m running for Congress to stop these insane policies and to prioritize the safety of law abiding citizens and law enforcement over violent criminals,” Pekau said in a press release following the arrest of two men by Orland Park police on gun charges who had been released on bond. “One is a three-time convicted felon who was out on electronic monitoring at the time of the arrest."

“The most enraging part is both of these criminals are already out on bonds that cost them just $500,” he said. “What is it going to take for politicians like Kim Foxx and Chief Judge Timothy Evans to realize that letting violent criminals walk is making our communities less safe?”

Nickolas Burch was taken into custody on armed robbery and attempted charges. Arrested  with Burch in the parking lot of the Orland Square Mall was Kelly Turner.

With crime rates now on the rise across much of the city, Pekau is now blasting the trend as indictment of the entire system, in particular the way he thinks Cook County State’s Attorney Foxx has handled things.  

“How many more people need to suffer from violent acts or lose their life from criminals out on bond from the Cook County judicial system?” he asked. “It is time for them to listen to our local police officers, police chiefs, elected leaders and residents and keep violent criminals off of our streets and out of our communities.”

Across the Orland Park area, Pekau said 85% of criminals arrested there are previous felons and/or out on bail.

“We can thank Cook County for nearly every single one of them,” he recently posted on Facebook. “The arrest we made of Nickolas Burch, who one of our officers called one of the ‘baddest guys’ he ever arrested, was no different. You ask the average person what will happen if you let a career criminal with a long history of violent crime back onto the streets, they’ll tell you it’s obvious—they’ll commit another violent crime.”

Pekau, running in the 6th Congressional District, admits the frustration is mounting.

“I’m frustrated that families, neighborhoods, businesses and our officers are put in harm’s way by the Cook County justice system that keeps freeing people who should be locked up,” he said. “Cook County is simply an extension of the justice system being championed by the Congressional and State Legislative majorities, President Biden and Gov. Pritzker. I’m running for Congress to stop these insane policies and to prioritize the safety law abiding citizens and law enforcement over violent criminals.”

A recent news report found since taking the seat as the state’s top prosecutor, Foxx’s office has dropped all charges against 30% of felony defendants or some 25,000 cases.

“I am fed up with our Cook County State’s Attorney who lets these violent criminals walk free,” Pekau told The Reporter. “We’re seeing the outcome of these actions play out – it puts our community and police officers in danger.”

Pekau is issuing a stern warning to criminals who might have an eye toward Orland Park.

“Criminals who come to Orland Park will not have a free pass,” he said. “The work done by the Targeted Response Unit and the Orland Park Police Department is admirable, and is the reason why our community feels safe, because we know we have outstanding law enforcement professionals cleaning up the Cook County State’s Attorney’s mess.”

In warning that the worst may still be yet to come for some parts of the state, Illinois Policy Institute President Ted Dabrowski recently pointed to all the mayhem to recently hit Chicago’s downtown business district.

“When you start combining this crime issue that we're talking about and start adding that corporations are going to delay their office reopenings it starts to all add up again," he told Chicago’s Morning Answer.

Dabrowski said Foxx’s office is mishandling the increase in crime.

“I think it’s a real issue,” he said. “I hear people say we don’t go down there anymore. People don’t walk around there anymore. They take an Uber everywhere they’re going. It’s really confusing when you hear (authorities) say how much better they’re doing managing felonies when this new report comes out and says just the opposite.”

Foxx has dropped charges against felony defendants at a clip that’s more than 10 percent greater than that of predecessor Anita Alvarez after being swept into office on a platform of criminal justice reform.

In a recent Tribune interview, Foxx defended her track record by claiming her office has made the decision to focus on violent crime. The Tribune's analysis further details a pattern of Foxx’s office dismissing cases against suspects charged in murders, shootings, sex crimes and serious drug offenses.