About the Candidate
Name: Keith Pekau
DOB:
Occupation:
Political Experience: Mayor of Orland Park
Website: KeithPekau.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/keithpekau
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PekauForCongress
Candidate Statement
Hi, I’m Keith Pekau and I am running for the United States Congress in the 6th District of Illinois.
Politicians like Marie Newman, Sean Casten, Nancy Pelosi, and Kim Foxx have put special interests, party politics, and extreme far-left agendas ahead of doing what’s best for the people they’re supposed to represent.
That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need good people in Congress who are there to do the right thing and solve problems by putting people over politics.
I will fight to keep families safe and our neighborhoods secure. Politicians like Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are letting violent criminals run free and putting our families’ safety at risk. As Mayor of Orland Park, we are fighting back.
We’ve reduced crime to the lowest rate in 27 years and were rated the 8th safest small city in the United States in 2021.
As a successful small business owner, I will fight to bring economic growth and prosperity back to our country, especially in the 6th District. There is no hiding that our national economy is struggling, with supply shortages and wages not keeping up with the cost of living. Workers are especially hurting in Illinois, where unemployment remains among the highest in the nation.
This is on top of the highest inflation since 1980 and working families are struggling to keep up. Gas, groceries, utilities, and even eating at restaurants cost more.
This reckless spending by Democrats needs to stop. I’ve led by example as Mayor of Orland Park, I cut spending, paid down debt, and lowered taxes. That is the same fiscally responsible leadership I will bring to Congress.
While the other Republican candidates talk about solving challenges like crime, inflation, and the economy, I’ve actually done it. I have a track record of identifying and fixing problems to make people’s lives better.
This is the common sense leadership we need to take on the failed far-left politics of Marie Newman and Sean Casten.
Join me at KeithPekau.com and let’s put people over politics.
Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
Politicians like Marie Newman, Sean Casten, Nancy Pelosi, and Kim Foxx have put special interests, party politics, and extreme far-left agendas ahead of doing what’s best for the people they’re supposed to represent.
That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need good people in Congress who aren’t beholden to special interests—people who are there to do the right thing and solve problems by putting people over politics.
I’ve been fighting the politicians and winning. I defeated a 28-year politician to become Mayor of Orland Park, where I put an end to “government as usual” by instituting term limits, cutting salaries and pensions for politicians, and putting the focus on doing what’s best for the people in our community. That is the leadership I will bring to Congress.
I will keep families safe and our neighborhoods secure, grow the economy to create good-paying middle-class jobs, and fight inflation and bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.
While the other Republican candidates talk about solving challenges like crime, inflation, and the economy, I’ve actually done it. Unlike them, I have a track record of identifying and fixing problems to make people’s lives better.
This is the common sense leadership we need to take on the failed far-left politics of Marie Newman and Sean Casten and put people over politics.
What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?
Instead of being beholden to special interests and party politics, we need leaders who will do the right thing, solve problems, and put people over politics.
Under the current Democrat-controlled Congress, crime has risen to record levels, the economy continues to struggle with unemployment here in Illinois among the highest in the nation, and reckless spending by Democrats has led to the highest inflation since 1980. Families, residents, and businesses are less safe and struggling to keep up. There is a lot that needs to be fixed.
That's why I will lead with common sense to keep families safe and our neighborhoods secure, grow the economy to create good-paying middle-class jobs, and fight inflation and bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.
What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
The most pressing issue is how crime has risen to record levels in the US and Chicago, and suburban families are experiencing frightening increases of crime in our once-peaceful communities.
American families shouldn’t have to live in fear. Yet that’s what’s happening. Crime has become a part of our daily lives.
Why is this happening? Because politicians like Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are letting violent criminals run free. Through progressive policies like defunding the police and no cash bail, they’re more interested in protecting criminals than victims and law-abiding citizens. 85% of the criminals we arrest in Orland Park are previous felons and/or are out on bail, and nearly every single one of them comes from Cook County.
In Orland Park, we’re fighting back so we can keep our families safe and neighborhoods secure. We’ve reduced crime to the lowest rate in 27 years. With the lowest violent crime rate of cities over 50,000 in Illinois, Orland Park was rated the safest city in Illinois in 2020 and the 8th safest small city in the United States in 2021—despite being mostly in Cook County.
We’ve achieved this through a common sense approach that holds criminals accountable for their actions. We work collaboratively as a community, with residents and businesses working directly with our outstanding police department. We hire the best of the best, then hold them accountable by taking every complaint seriously and always striving to be better. We invest heavily in investigations so we produce so much evidence the state’s attorney has no choice but to prosecute criminals, and when needed we take cases to the feds to get violent criminals off the streets. We utilize modern technology and fund programs that have been proven to work. We actively work to rehabilitate non-violent criminals and we hired mental health professionals to assist the mentally ill, which has decreased committals by 35% and saved lives.
Criminals know if they commit a crime in Orland Park, they will be caught and they will face consequences. Our police recently hauled in a group of armed robbers who were smugly laughing because they assumed they’d get a free pass. Their tune immediately changed once they realized they committed the crime in Orland Park on the Will County side. Just a few months ago, the FBI and US Attorney’s office thanked Orland Park for our help in putting a violent felon and drug trafficker behind bars that Kim Foxx had refused to charge.
This work is personal for me. When I served in the Air Force, including three tours in Iraq, I didn’t put my life on the line to defend our country so families would feel unsafe in their homes. It’s time to do away with the political agendas and focus on keeping Americans safe.
But ensuring we have a strong economy with good-paying middle-class jobs is important as well. I will fight to bring economic growth and prosperity back to our country, especially right here in the 6th District. And I will fight inflation for working families by stopping spending more than we bring in, lowering taxes, and addressing the national debt.
