Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau blasted efforts to convince the village’s board to pass a ceasefire resolution in regards to the Israel-Hamas war, saying that he doesn’t want the village to “be like Chicago.”
Pekau also said that those who are pushing for the ceasefire can “go to another country,” sparking intense backlash and controversy.
Supporters of a ceasefire resolution attended Tuesday night’s meeting, with Pekau saying they were allowed to speak their minds on the matter.
Pekau criticized the demonstrators for disrupting proceedings, eventually recessing the meeting without a vote.
“I’m an American. That’s where my allegiances lie. Period. Dot. End of story,” he said. “If you’re an American citizen, and you don’t feel that way, in my opinion, you’re entitled to that opinion, but you can certainly go, and go to another country and support that country, and all the power to you."
The Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations says the push for a ceasefire resolution isn’t over, and pushed back on Pekau’s comments.
“There will be a response beyond asking for another resolution to be passed. There will be a push against this mayor, to remind him that he needs to represent all people,” Ahmed Rehab said.
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Residents presented more than 800 signatures asking for a ceasefire resolution after cities like San Francisco and Chicago passed similar measures, a stance that Pekau dismissed.
“Orland Park has no influence on foreign policy or federal dollars,” he said in a Facebook post. “Orland Park also has no desire to be anything like San Francisco or Chicago. Not with migrants, crime, feces on the street or with regard to a ceasefire resolution.”
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Pekau said that protesters did not “acknowledge the atrocities of Hamas that triggered” the current conflict, and that “other opinions should be shouted down” during the public comment period.
He also stood by his comments about supporters of Palestinian rights going to fight in the conflict overseas.
“I’m entitled to my opinion and you’re entitled to your opinion, and also if you would like to go to another country to fight for your country, like I fought for mine, more power to you,” he said.
