An Illinois Secretary of State motor vehicle office in Orland Park will close, likely sometime this fall, after Orland Township trustees voted Monday to end the lease.
The secretary of state has had an office inside the township offices, 14807 S. Ravinia Ave., for several years and provides the “full array” of services, including license and registration renewal, a spokesman for Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Tuesday.
Township trustees raised questions about safety and parking before voting 3-2 to end the lease, which is for $1 a year.
The secretary of state leases 1,100 square feet inside the township offices and renewed the lease, for a five-year term, this February, said Scott Burnham, a spokesman for the secretary of state. He said at the time the lease was renewed no complaints or issues about the office were raised.
Under the terms of the lease, the township has to provide 90-day notice to end a lease, so the office would presumably be closing later in October, Burnham said.
In a brief statement Tuesday, Giannoulias said trustees “did a huge disservice to Southland residents” in voting to close the office.
Board members “failed their constituents and the taxpayers they are elected to serve,” he said.
The DMV office is the 22nd busiest out of 122 locations statewide, and so far this year had conducted 42,000 transactions, Burnham said.
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Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady urged trustees to consider putting an advisory referendum on the ballot next March.
“I think we should work with them (to address concerns) and not get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
That motion failed on a 3-2 vote.
Trustee Kenneth Duffy, who voted to end the lease, said there are safety issues with having the office, and that people “have tripped and fallen” and Orland Park police have been called to respond to disturbances.
He said people with appointments at the office have to wait outside in line, in all types of weather.
“That line is always long,” Duffy said.
The trustee also said many of the secretary of state customers “don’t even live in our area,” and that township taxpayers are supporting a building used by residents outside the township.
Burnham said the office primarily serves Orland Park residents but also has customers from Orland Hills, Tinley Park and Homer Glen. The secretary of state also has offices at the Bridgeview courthouse and in Midlothian and Joliet.
Trustee Kenneth Soltis said the township building “should be for Orland Township and the DMV really needs to relocate.”
O’Grady said the concerns raised by trustees were new to him and felt the issues could be addressed by talking with the office management or secretary of state.
He maintained people from outside Orland Park who use the office are also patronizing businesses within the village.
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