Orland Park robocall attacks Village Trustee Cynthia Katsenes, former Mayor Keith Pekau

A robocall calling out Orland Park political figures including Trustee Cynthia Katsenes and former Mayor Keith Pekau was not sent by the American Federation of Labor political action committee despite its claims, according to the Chicago Federation of Labor.

The federation, which represents 300 unions and more than 13,000 union members in Orland Park, denounced the robocall in a news release last week.  Federation President Bob Reiter said no registration for the American Federation of Labor PAC exists in Illinois, and “the messages were not created or commissioned by the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Illinois AFL-CIO, national AFL-CIO or any related entities.”

“We are disgusted that scammers are attempting to co-opt labor’s credibility with the community to spread misinformation and advance their own dubious agenda,” Reiter said in the release. “Sadly, this type of deceptive behavior is not new in Orland Park politics. The Chicago Federation of Labor is exploring all legal options to put a stop to these fraudulent communications, and we advise recipients to ignore them.”

The message calls on Orland Park residents to demand Katsenes’ resignation for “breach of her fiduciary duties and trying to destroy Orland Park,” according to a recording of the robocall provided by the federation’s political director, Nick Desideri. It also denounces Pekau and Carol McGury, who ran unsuccessfully for village trustee on Pekau’s ticket in April. Pekau lost his bid for reelection to Mayor Jim Dodge.

The robocall mentions the village’s proposal for a nearly 230,000-square-foot Amazon retail development at 159th Street and LaGrange Road, which was approved by the board Jan. 19. Katsenes and Trustee William Healy voted against the development.

“Newsflash, Amazon is building a supercenter, not a warehouse,” the message says.

McGury in a social media post tied the robocall to “bullies” looking to push Dodge’s agenda, including the local political group Inform Orland Park. In response, Inform Orland Park called McGury’s allegations baseless and said, as a community information source, its members do not create robocalls or push “coordinated political attacks.”

Dodge said Thursday he hadn’t heard about the robocall but is aware of others “flying around” the village that often spread false or misleading information. He said neither he nor the organization was responsible for the robocall.

“Whoever is doing these robocalls, I wish they would stop, because it’s not helpful and it’s damaging the Orland Park community,” Dodge said.

Katsenes also said “slanderous and outlandish” robocalls are nothing new and hopes they will be stopped. She said another robocall used sexual overtones when referring to her, which is unacceptable.

“People have gotten so many that they’re just aggravated, at this point,” Katsenes said. “Why do that to rip the community apart?”

She said even though they “certainly don’t see eye to eye on certain issues,” she does not believe the mayor or any other trustees are responsible for the robocalls.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com