Good government and fiscal sanity — those seemingly passe issues are what is motivating Republican Keith Pekau to run for Congress in Illinois’s 6th Congressional District.
Pekau, 55, is the mayor of suburban Chicago’s Orland Park. And despite vowing to fight “far-left extremism — a promise that is front and center on his campaign website, Pekau is not a culture warrior. In an interview, the first-time congressional candidate said he was running for the House because he believes the broad range of experience he brings to the table — military veteran, small business owner, mayor — positions him to solve critical problems facing the newly configured 6th Congressional District.
“My first inclination when people approached me to run for Congress was: ‘No way,’” Pekau told the Washington Examiner. How did he end up changing his mind? “The same argument I used to use to get people run, locally, was used with me — you’re the right candidate, and you can win,” Pekau explained.
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In 2019, halfway into his stint as mayor, Pekau sold his tree service and landscaping company. He had purchased the small business 16 years earlier, expanded into landscaping, and grew revenues 600% during his ownership. These days, he puts his MBA from Duke to use as an occasional business consultant focused on helping companies develop growth strategies. If Pekau bests the four other Republicans running in the 6th Congressional District Republican primary, he would face either Rep. Sean Casten or Rep. Marie Newman, who are running against each other in the Democratic primary.
The new 6th Congressional District leans Democratic, although less so than pre-redistricting. In a Republican wave, not out of the question this year, this seat could flip.
But it’s that competitiveness and light blue hue that has Pekau focused kitchen table issues such as inflation and crime; good government and excessive government spending in Washington — rather than the social and cultural issues that typically rise to the fore in Republican-leaning districts; rather than former President Donald Trump and his unsupported claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Indeed, what does Pekau have to say on his website right underneath “Fighting far-left extremism”? “Leading With Common Sense.”
Pekau predicted that his GOP primary opponents would campaign on bringing good government practices and fiscal responsibility to Washington. “I’ve done it,” he said, pointing to his effort as mayor of Orland Park to reduce his government salary, control the city’s employee pension fund, lower the city’s operating budget and make its workforce more efficient. And of course, Pekau said, his Republican competitors are going to campaign on reducing crime, which has spilled into the district from neighboring Chicago — and proliferated.
“Crime is the biggest issue in the 6th District,” he said, before, again, pointing to his record as Orland Park’s chief executive. “Our crime index has gone down every year I’ve been mayor. They’re going to talk about crime, but I’ve actually done something about it.”
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What about Trump? After all, Pekau was a Trump delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention and supports many of the former president’s policies. “Trump was our president for four years,” he said. “But he’s not now.”
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