Oralnd Park rated as safest city in Illinois in latest rankings

Sometimes it takes a village to keep a village safe.

Safety.com, which researches safety providers, products and services, named the Village of Orland Park as the safest city in Illinois.

It could be an indication that Orland Park has a top-performing police department. But it can also be said that this award also represents an engaged Village Board and generous donations including a dining gift card offered in appreciation.

Among the donors, Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning owner David Musial was recognized at the Feb. 1 Committee of the Whole meeting for donating $20,000 for the police to purchase body cameras.

In 2020, a year that was challenging because of COVID-19-related shutdowns, Mazda of Orland Park kicked in $10,000 for the police to purchase bulletproof vests.

Mayor Keith Pekau said the goodwill has helped create a good feeling between the public and police.

“Obviously citizens donating is very, very helpful,” the mayor said. “A lot of citizens and companies show a lot of appreciation to the police. Last time I saw, our police have a favorable rating of somewhere near 91%, which may not be true in a lot of communities.”

The mayor, reminding that the police would be fully equipped even without the donations, said the feeling is mutual.

“It makes them want to work here, and it’s nice to know you are appreciated, especially when nationally police are bashed on a regular basis,” he said. “On the state level, they are doing things that make it harder and harder for police do to their job so they want to work in a community that likes them a lot.”

To make its ratings, Safety.com, which researches safety providers, products and services, analyzed data provided by the FBI Crime Report, Gun Violence Archive, U.S. Census Bureau, Insurance Journal and America Health Rankings.

East Peoria was ranked second with Bartlett, Normal and Willow Springs rounding out the top five.

Communities were also examined on public safety, financial safety, state-level natural disaster and health metrics.

“Our team diligently identified the safest cities beyond just looking at crime rates,” said Antonio Lopez Jr., an analyst for Safety.com. “We wanted to get the full picture and have our data extend beyond what people would originally look at for the safety of a city, especially in these tough economic times. We took a step further by looking at factors that measure socioeconomic, health and natural disaster safety in addition to public safety in this study.”

Police Chief Joe Mitchell is grateful for the designation and is happy with some of the statistics that have come out of the village in recent years, despite  incidents at Orland Square Mall and occasional shootings.

“In 2019, the index crimes in the village were the lowest they have been in 25 years,” he said. “In 2020, they dropped another 29%. Additionally, property crimes dropped substantially from 2019 to 2020 and are less than half of what they were in 2016.

“We have the lowest number of violent crimes per capita for towns with over 50,000 residents in Illinois. Moreover, when a violent crime had occurred, the Orland Park Police Department exceeded both the Midwest and national clearance rate averages in solving the crime,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell has taken over for Tim McCarthy, who retired in August after 26 years as police chief.

McCarthy, who is serving as intermi police chief in Moekna, said he saw this ranking for Orland Park coming. 

“The men and women of the Orland Park Police Department are hardworking and dedicated to the safety of Orland Park,” he said. “This new recognition only confirms what I have always known, Orland Park was and continues to be a safe and secure place in which to live, work and play.”

This article originally ran on nwitimes.com.