Orland Park mayor recognizes former congresswoman for helping fund road widening project

ORLAND PARK, Ill. — It does not matter if you are Democrat or Republican, we all use the same roads.

With that in mind, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau — who ran as the Republican candidate for the Illinois sixth district seat in U.S. House of Representatives this past November — recognized former U.S. Rep. Marie Newman, a Democrat who served the third district in the 117th United States Congress, for her work securing a federal grant for the Village’s 143rd Street widening project.

Newman was presented with a Community Appreciation Award by Pekau during the Monday, Jan. 16 Village Board of Trustees meeting.

“I’m sure that there’s a lot of you here that are surprised tonight because Congresswoman Newman and I disagree on a lot of things,” Pekau said. “But while we may disagree on many things, it is important to note that there are things that we agree on.”

Pekau listed support for the Bridge Teen Center and funding for road projects as places of agreement. Specifically, he said Newman helped secure millions of dollars in funding to widen part of 143rd Street.

“It is important to note that this has been a bipartisan effort, and the only entity that has seemed to not want to fix this road is the State of Illinois,” Pekau said.

He added that the Village has spent millions already on engineering work for the street widening project.

“It is unfortunate the State, in spite of billions in funding from the federal government, still hasn’t funded a project that is truly shovel-ready,” Pekau said.

However, the federal grant and Village funds will pay for one section of the work — from Southwest Highway to West Avenue.

Pekau said Newman supported the project from the start.

“It also shows what can happen when the focus is on solving problems rather than politics,” he said. “You don’t have to agree on everything to get a lot of good things done. This is one of those, and I’m grateful and thankful for former Congresswoman Newman’s help and support — as well as her personal call to inform me of the grant.”

Newman accepted the award but did not speak during the meeting.