Elected officials say an Orland Park resident recently charged with threatening and intimidating them was behind campaigns of robocalls and other communications that targeted them and their families.
Prosecutors say Michael Henry, 67, was arrested March 24 after admitting to sending an email March 17 threatening Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz.
The email allegedly indicated if Glotz did not comply with Henry’s demands, Henry would portray Glotz as a “lover of pedophilia,” according to prosecutors. Henry also allegedly threatened to send “friends” he has from time spent in federal custody to Glotz’s house unless Glotz issued him a public apology or produced documents he wanted, prosecutors said.
Henry also allegedly said in the email he is in contact with gangs in the Chicago area and implied at least six people owe him favors from Henry helping to overturn their life sentences, prosecutors said.
“The subtext of that statement suggests that these individuals are ones capable of murder,” prosecutors said. They said Henry admitted to police he spent a lot of time in federal prison and knows a lot of people in gangs.
Henry also allegedly sent the email to Glotz’s wife, a Cook County commissioner and “other government and union officials,” according to the charging documents.
Neither Henry nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.
The Illinois State Police said in a news release that Henry faces felony charges of threating public officials and intimidation for alleged threats to Glotz, Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison, former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, Orland Park Trustee Cindy Nelson-Katsenes and an unnamed private citizen.
Patrick Walsh, an attorney representing Glotz, said the March 17 email “made the hair on everyone’s neck raise a little bit” and reflects an escalation in Henry’s harassing messages to village officials.
“There’s an unmistakable line between spirited debate and threats of violence and coercion,” Walsh said. “And when that line’s crossed, as it was here, the mayor has a duty to protect himself and his family and the ability of the village government to function without fear.”
Morrison said in a statement that Henry has for the past eight years exhibited a pattern of harassing and intimidating elected officials and his recent arrest “marks an important step toward bringing accountability.”
More Top Picks Best Saucepans
He said while public service “requires a thick skin,” Henry’s conduct crossed into criminal behavior by reaching into politicians’ personal lives, referencing their spouses, children and other family members.
“That type of behavior is especially deplorable and should never be part of political discourse, regardless of party or ideology,” Morrison said. He said he hopes the recent arrest brings an end to Henry’s harassment and any others who assisted him are also investigated.
Prosecutors say in months leading up to the email targeting Glotz, Orland High School District 230 board members received countless emails and robocalls they believe were from Henry alleging the board members are “pedophiles by way of association.”
“These emails and calls are similar in nature to the allegation of calls and emails sent throughout Orland Park over the last three years,” prosecutors said.
Orland Park filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging Henry was behind “vile, defamatory” robocalls to residents, while Henry filed a countersuit a year later claiming Pekau, who was mayor at the time, was responsible for half of the 36 calls that began in April 2018. Pekau denied the allegation and claimed Henry was fabricating information.
Henry has a history of filing lawsuits without the aid of an attorney and has been essentially barred from filing federal cases in Illinois’ Northern District, according to court documents. He was also sanctioned in 2024 for filing a frivolous appeal in Illinois’ Central District after a judge dismissed a lawsuit he brought against judges who rejected a previous legal claim.
Henry was convicted in 2009 of threatening a federally protected employee and in 2015 for the manufacture and delivery of cannabis.
Illinois State Police said Henry also faces misdemeanor charges of harassment through electronic communications from a case filed last year involving Pekau.
Pekau said in a social media post the misdemeanor charges were brought after Henry sent anonymous text messages threatening his family and the case was referred to the Illinois State Police by the Orland Park Police Department to avoid a conflict of interest. He claimed Henry was involved with current Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge’s campaign to unseat Pekau, which Dodge denied Wednesday.
“That allegation was entirely political and made up,” Dodge said.
Henry was not detained after his latest arrest, but Cook County Judge Linzey Jones ordered he surrender his firearms and firearm owner’s identification card, and refrain from posting on social media about Glotz ahead of the trial.
Jones also granted Glotz a stalking no contact order to keep Henry from contacting the Tinley Park mayor or his wife. Henry must stay 2,500 feet away from the Glotz’s home and the Tinley Park Village Hall and was placed under GPS monitoring.
Henry’s next hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on April 30 at the Cook County courthouse at 10220 South 76th Ave., Bridgeview.