South Cook News

Rep. Sean Casten’s vote for the Inflation Reduction Act came under fire as Keith Pekau, the mayor of Orland Park who is a congressional candidate (R-IL), said the legislation won’t help everyday people, but it will benefit Casten financially.

“Casten’s cheerleading of the latest bill is insulting,” Pekau said on Facebook. “Sean Casten is a lobbyist-turned-congressman who has taken millions of dollars in federal subsidies for years – subsidies for which the hard-working taxpayers in DuPage and Cook County have to foot the bill.” 

With Casten’s “yes” vote on the bill, he called its passage a “historic win” for Americans and the environment.

“Not only will this legislation help tackle the climate crisis, it’ll lower energy costs and bring down the price of prescription drugs,” Casten said in a release after the bill passed. “While this is the largest investment in climate action in United States history and there is so much worth celebrating, we can’t lose sight of the work we have left to do.” 

He called it the first energy bill Congress has passed in 17 years and said the country needs to do more along that vein.

Casten's latest financial disclosure shows that he holds as much as $500,000 in a green energy company that is expected to profit from the Inflation Reduction Act, which calls for spending billions on green energy initiatives, the Free Beacon reported. Casten is invested in the Sacramento-based company Greenleaf Power, which sells "carbon-neutral electricity" to utility companies. 

Pekau said the legislation benefits Casten personally and that financial gain is his real aim as a congressman.

“Casten ran for Congress to ensure that he could continue to secure those subsidies,” Pekau said. "As mayor of Orland Park, I’ve worked to make government live within its means so we could reduce the burden the village was passing on to the people we serve. I am going to Congress to push back on self-dealing politicians and improve life for the people I hope to serve.”

Pekau won the Republican nomination for Illinois' 6th Congressional House seat in June, and will face off against Casten in the November general election, according to Ballotpedia.