The Village of Orland Park settled a lawsuit with a former police officer over accusations he was fired after filing a racial discrimination complaint.
The village settled with former Orland Park Police officer William Sanchez for $524,000, the village said in a statement. That’s in addition to its own $460,000 in legal fees, which the court deemed it responsible for.
Sanchez, an officer for nearly two decades, sued after he accused the village’s police department of denying him a promotion to lieutenant due to racial discrimination and then firing him for lodging a complaint about it in January 2024.
Justin Tresnowski, an attorney for Sanchez, said Sanchez has been reinstated as a sergeant, and is “returning to work with a clean record.”
“We are pleased that the current Village administration was willing to set aside past disputes to reach a fair settlement that will avoid wasting any further taxpayer money on this matter,” Tresnowski said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
According to the lawsuit, Sanchez suspected race was the driving factor behind him losing a promotion after another officer who was “recorded making racially-charged remarks toward an African-American arrestee had since been promoted twice by the Village.”
He also claimed another officer was promoted even though his background check revealed “he had made comments about lynching an African-American arrestee” at another department, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement, current mayor Jim Dodge said the village “remains committed to resolving all outstanding litigation carried over from the prior administration in an efficient and responsible manner.”
The settlement comes months after a judge issued a temporary restraining order against former mayor Keith Pekau in an unrelated matter, after Pekau released “sensitive internal documents and details concerning ongoing litigation involving the Village and non-public information related to Village employees” in blog and social media posts, the village said.
The order prevents Pekau, who lost a bid for re-election in April, from posting or talking about “confidential Village communications,” though the village is seeking a permanent order, Dodge said.
“The Village of Orland Park remains committed to open, transparent and responsible governance and will continue to take legal action when necessary to protect its interests and those of its residents,” Dodge said in a statement.