ORLAND PARK, ILLINOIS: Jim Dodge, who on April 1 won the election to become mayor of Orland Park in suburban Chicago, unseating a predecessor accused of disrespecting and bullying local Arab Americans, vowed that those residents will now receive “the respect they deserve as community residents, business owners, taxpayers and families.”

In an interview with Arab News, he said that every resident deserves to receive the same level of respect “regardless of their race, religion or national origin,” and irrespective of any particular issue they might want to raise.

Dodge’s comment related to a confrontation during a village board meeting on Feb. 5, 2024, between the former mayor, Keith Pekau, and 75 members of the Arab American community who asked him to support a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The board had passed a similar resolution on Ukraine a few months earlier but Pekau responded to the Gaza request by brushing it aside, criticizing the residents and telling them to “go to another country” if they did not like living in America.

When Arab Americans attending the meeting protested against his comments, Pekau ordered them out of the chamber, paused the meeting until they were gone, and then reconvened with no members of the public present and continued to berate the community over its request.

Dodge described Pekau’s response to the residents of the village as “inappropriate” and “disrespectful,” adding: “We are all people who live in Orland Park and we want to see the best things for our community, for our families and for our children. It’s about attitude. That’s not what we saw at that meeting.

“Nobody should be prejudged because of their race, religion or ethnicity. Orland Park has a strong and vibrant, diverse community of residents and they all deserve respect, regardless of the issues. Arab Americans are no different than any other community we have in Orland Park; Irish, Polish, Hispanics, many others — everyone should be treated with respect and that is what I promise my administration will do.”

Pekau’s abusive response motivated Arab Americans in the area to make an effort to increase voter engagement in the run-up to the elections. More than 1,000 Arab Americans subsequently registered to vote, which played a part in removing Pekau from office.

Dodge, who received 9,539 votes in the mayoral election to Pekau’s 6,960, said what Arab Americans had experienced was similar to the experiences of other communities in the village under Pekau’s brand of leadership. “Together, they all brought this important change,” he added.

Dodge, who held his first board meeting last week, said one of his first priorities will be to restore the village’s committee system, which Pekau dismantled, that allows residents to participate in policy decisions and engage with officials directly on a variety of important issues. He added that he would meet with leaders from all communities to ensure they can engage in this way.

Arab American community leaders welcomed Dodge’s “open-minded approach to government and inclusion.”

Mohammed Jaber, who serves as a board trustee for High School District 230, which contains three high schools with a large proportion of Arab students, said the approach promised by the new mayor was exactly what Orland Park and its Arab American residents need.

“The most important thing is to be involved and work with one another for the betterment of Orland Park,” Jaber told Arab News.

“It doesn’t mean that everyone agrees on an issue, it means that our officials listen and consider the positions and ideas we have as constituents, especially since we are 25 percent of the tax base. That in itself is a major change from the past administration.”

Lena Matariyeh, who won a seat on the Orland Township Board of Trustees in another local election on April 1, said past experiences with Pekau and other nonresponsive local elected officials had shown Arab Americans the importance of being actively engaged with local elections and speaking out on community issues.

“What happens in our local communities, like Orland Park, truly matters,” she told Arab News. “Change begins at the grassroots level and when we come together, regardless of background, we can help shape the future we want to see.

“The recent elections showed an inspiring level of engagement from the Arab American community, and many others who are stepping up, getting involved and making their voices heard. It’s about ensuring that all communities feel represented, respected and included in the decisions that impact their daily lives.”

Hassan Nijem, president of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, praised Dodge for his commitment to respecting all residents, including Arab Americans.

“This is significant that a mayor of a major suburban city has said that he rejects the disrespect the former mayor showed to our community,” Nijem told Arab News.

“Our community came together and we got involved to make change happen, and we did that. We are looking forward to being actively involved in local government issues, to being heard, and to participating in forging the future of Orland Park, which has a large Arab American community.”

Arab Americans need to develop stronger voices in their communities, and the wider country, if they hope to increase their ability to help bring about peaceful, positive change in the Middle East, where their origins lie.

Arab American candidates won 18 of 36 election contests in the Chicagoland suburbs last month, a feat that surpassed previous voting achievements. Orland Park has more than 58,000 residents and is the largest municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago.

OTTAWA: Canada’s new government will relentlessly protect the nation’s sovereignty as it works to redefine fraught relations with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday as his cabinet was sworn in.

Carney’s election win two weeks ago was largely defined by threats from President Donald Trump, whose trade war and repeated talk of annexing the United States’ northern neighbor upended Canadian politics.

Carney, a former central banker with experience leading through major financial crises, convinced enough voters that he was the right choice to take on Trump, whose tariffs on imported autos and other goods have already cost Canadian jobs.

“Canadians elected this new government with a strong mandate to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States,” Carney said in a statement before his new ministers took their oaths.

Addressing reporters after the ceremony, with a cabinet of Liberal Party loyalists assembled behind him, Carney said his “government will work relentlessly to keep Canada secure as a sovereign nation.”

Trump discussed absorbing Canada into the United States on several occasions in his first Oval Office meeting with Carney last week.

The president insisted it would be a “wonderful marriage” if Canada agreed to his repeated calls to become the 51st US state.

Carney replied the Canada “won’t be for sale, ever,” and referenced the deep hostility among Canadians toward the prospect of a political union with the United States.

Carney’s cabinet retains several key figures involved in negotiating with the Trump administration over tariffs, although some job titles have shifted.

Dominic LeBlanc, who has dealt directly with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in recent weeks, has been named the minister responsible for Canada-US trade.

Former foreign minister Melanie Joly has been moved to industry minister, with Anita Anand replacing her as Canada’s top diplomat.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is keeping his post.

Since taking over from Justin Trudeau on March 14 as prime minister, Carney has tried to create distance from the previous Liberal regime, which became deeply unpopular over its decade in power.

His cabinet includes Trudeau allies, but also brings in new faces.
Evan Solomon, a prominent former journalist entering parliament for the first time, has been named minister for artificial intelligence, a new post nodding at Carney’s pledge to transform Canada’s economy.

Carney said his cabinet will be focused on a “core mission,” which is “to create the strongest economy in the G7.”

He promised to act fast on a middle class tax cut and remove inter-provincial trade barriers by Canada Day, on July 1, a move some economist believe could soften the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

Carney had a lucrative career as an investment banker before serving as the governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.

He is a political novice who will be new to parliament when the House of Commons reconvenes on May 27, opening with a throne speech by King Charles III, the head of state in Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.

But Carney assured voters his experience in the private sector and as a central banker will help him rebuild Canada’s economy, a message that resonated with voters.

Opinion polls showed the Liberals trailing the Conservatives by more than 20 points at the start of the year, but Carney’s replacing Trudeau, combined with Trump’s threats, sparked an unprecedented comeback.

The Liberals fell just short of the 172 seats needed for majority control of Parliament, but with 170 confirmed wins they will be in a strong position to pass legislation.