Mayor Michael Glotz will work to find space for it in town. Orland and Tinley mayors want to see it stay in either south suburb.
TINLEY PARK, IL — As Orland Township residents react to news of the Orland Park DMV facility's impending closure, Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz said he'd welcome it with open arms.
Glotz on Wednesday announced he has put word in with Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias that he'd like to see the DMV come to Tinley Park.
"Orland Township may have voted to close the Orland Park DMV, but Mayor Glotz has reached out to the Secretary of State’s office to offer Tinley Park as a future home to the DMV," the Village said.
“We would welcome the DMV in our town and would be willing to assist the Secretary of State’s office in any way that we could, to make this happen” said Mayor Glotz on social media.
Glotz's statement follows the Orland Township board's Monday vote to end the lease for the DMV operating out of the township's administration building in Orland Park.
The agency has been leasing 1,100 square feet of space in the building at 14807 S. Ravinia Ave. since 2020, when it was relocated there from Village Hall. Supervisor Paul O'Grady worked with then-State Sen. Bill Cunningham to find space for the agency within Orland Township. The Secretary of State has since been leasing the space for $1 annually as part of an intergovernmental agreement, Supervisor Paul O'Grady said.
“The Secretary of State’s office has been a vital community asset for five years,” O'Grady said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m deeply disappointed that my colleagues chose to eliminate these services without first hearing from the people who rely on them every day.”
Citing safety concerns, parking shortages, security issues and maintenance costs, trustees voted 3-2 on Monday to end the lease, rendering the facility closed within 90 days. Keeping it open without a lapse in service would require the Secretary of State's office to find a new space within that timeframe.
Giannoulias called the decision to close what he called one of the state's busiest DMVs "a huge disservice." The DMV services residents of Orland Township—Orland Park, Orland Hills and Tinley Park—but also many from other towns.
"Are some of them from outside? Obviously," O'Grady said during the Monday meeting. "But also, what they do is, they're over spending money at Red Lobster. They're over at the PGA store. They're over at the mall. They're keeping our taxes down by spending their dollars here and their sales tax dollars. And I know that's going on. And I guess my final point would be, the building's paid for anyway. Your taxes are not going up because of the Secretary of State's office back there. And I'm not hearing of any higher, better use."
O'Grady suggested that the issues could be discussed with the agency and addressed. He also suggested the board pose a question on the facility's future to the voters in a referendum on the ballot in March 2026.
"We can make it hard on them, right?" he said. "That, we can do that. But just to throw the baby out with the bathwater without taking it to the people and the voters, I'm just not for it. ...
“I think we should work with them (the Secretary of State's Office) and not get ahead of ourselves.”
Glotz on Wednesday suggested that the facility could find a new home in Tinley Park.
"I’ve reached out to them and told we’d assist them and help them find a location," Glotz told Patch Thursday. "Not in a Village building, but in an open space."
The Village does not have space in any of its buildings, Glotz said, but he's hoping to work with landowners to make a workable deal.
"I’ve already reached out to some of the landowners to help us with reducing a rate to move there," Glotz said.
Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge has said he doesn't want to see it leave Orland Park, though. Some Orland Park residents have said they'd like to see it stay, but that they want the state agency to pay market rent prices.
O'Grady has also started an online petition to reverse the board's decision.
Glotz said he had spoken with Orland Township trustees Frank Williams and Ken Soltis, and that he believed that in seeking to end the lease, their intention had been to compel the state agency to pay more in rent.
"They’re hoping they come back, talk to them, and try to negotiate something with (the Township)," Glotz said. "It’s just a lot of space that they give up."
In the meantime, Glotz said he and Dodge are working together on possible alternatives.
"We agreed to work together to try to keep them in Tinley or Orland," Glotz told Patch. "We just want to keep them in the south suburbs. Anything we can do together—whether it’s Tinley or Orland."
O'Grady has also said that he is in talks with Giannoulias to determine next steps.
"When I heard about this vote, I immediately contacted Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias' office with the intent to assist in finding a new location for the service in Orland Park. We are currently working in conjunction with Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Orland Township Supervisor Paul O'Grady to find a way to continue to provide these services to the Orland Park community."