South Cook News

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau reacted to Senator Dick Durbin's calls for the reinstatement of a plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. "Durbin has been in the DC swamp for 40 years and in Democratic leadership for nearly 20," he said. He made the statement in an Aug. 5 post on X.

"Dick Durbin wants to Secretary Austin to reinstate the plea deals for the masterminds of 9/11," said Keith I Pekau. "Durbin has been in the DC swamp for 40 years and in Democratic leadership for nearly 20. Speaks volumes for what the Democratic Party is."

According to a report from National Public Radio (NPR), on Aug. 2, a plea deal for three men involved in planning the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, was rescinded by order of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin just days after the plea deal was reached with three accused plotters of the attacks. This decision puts the death penalty back on the table for Mohammad, Bin ‘Attash, and al Hawsawi. The deal allowed the three men to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder and to receive sentences up to life in prison.

Screenshot of Keith Pekau's Aug. 5 Post on X | X

In an Aug. 4 post on X, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin urged Austin to reinstate the plea deals. "I urge Secretary Austin to reverse this deeply disappointing decision, which denies finality and justice to 9/11 families and exposes yet again the lack of independence that has haunted the military commissions from the outset," Durbin said in his post on X, responding to a Reuters tweet with an article announcing Austin’s revocation of the plea deals.

Austin’s decision to revoke the plea deals also came with changes to the commission that approved them. "I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009," Austin wrote in his Aug. 2 order, according to Fox News. "Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself. Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024."

Keith Pekau is currently serving as Orland Park’s mayor and is a former candidate for state office. He has served as Orland Park’s mayor for seven years and works as a partner at Fahrenheit Consulting Group; he is also a former small business owner. Pekau ran for Illinois’ sixth Congressional District in 2022.