Orland Park Village Board green lights investigation into single-family home purchases after split 4-2 vote
By Jon DePaolis
ORLAND PARK, Ill. — The Village of Orland Park is moving forward with its investigation into the Village’s purchases of single-family homes in the early 2000s.
The Village Board of Trustees voted 4-2 Monday, April 19, to enter into a professional services agreement with the law firm of Aronberg Goldgehn. Trustees James Dodge and Kathleen Fenton voted against the motion, while Trustee Daniel Calandriello abstained.
The investigation was initially brought to the board floor by Trustee Michael Milani in January. As part of the agenda initiative request, Milani asked staff to investigate several single-family homes that were purchased by the Village. Later that month, the board members gave direction to staff to get proposals from independent law firms to potentially investigate the transactions further. Action, however, was tabled on the item in February.
Per Village documents, the investigation intends to look into:
If any ordinances, practices or procedures were not followed as part of the Village’s purchases of the single-family homes.
If any criminal actions took place that would need to be referred to local, state or federal agencies.
If any procedural changes should be made for either transparency purposes or future acquisitions or purchases.
During the discussion, Trustee William Healy made an amendment to the motion, replacing the original law firm of Hervas, Condon & Bersani with Aronberg Goldgehn. This prompted Calandriello to ask Healy why the change was being requested.
“I was unfamiliar with some of these law firms, but I have made inquiries and I’ve heard some good, respectful things [about] Aronberg Goldgehn,” Healy said. “And I know that they are completely independent. I mean, I don’t know anybody there, but I hope that they are completely independent of anybody.”
Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes also stated that Aronberg Goldgehn was one of the legal teams the Village reached out to for a responsiveness check regarding the possible investigation.
The amendment passed 4-2, with Dodge and Fenton voting against. Calandriello abstained from voting, citing a conflict of interest because his parents owned one of the homes potentially being looked at as part of the investigation’s scope. The home was one of the houses damaged by a history of flooding in the area and was one of the properties purchased by the Village.