John Fotopoulos said he has seen Orland Park change.

Ten years ago, when he first ran on a slate for village board and lost, the country was not in the grip of economic turmoil and the village was not in the midst of ongoing eminent domain litigation. All the more reason for a village board to debate its decisions moreso than Fotopoulos believes its doing right now.

The 39-year-old defense attorney and father of three is running as a solo campaigner. Fotopoulos has lived in Orland since 1995, a first-generation American whose parents hail from Greece. After working in finance, he went to John Marshal Law School and started practicing criminal defense, personal injury, workman's compensation and other defense cases.

Fotopoulos spoke with Patch about the need to resolve the Triangle dispute, adding a human element to red-light tickets and the need to argue.

What do you bring to the table as a potential trustee, and why are you running?

 I think there's a lot I can offer to the community. When you have your kids growing up you want to give something back. Let's make this town more family-oriented again. I think it's lost a little of that. Maybe it's the economy. Maybe people don't care as much anymore. Maybe some of the board members are getting up there in age, with the exception of people like Brad O'Halloran, James Dodge and Kathy Fenton. 

 How can the Orland Triangle dispute be resolved?

 Is there something I can do to change the Triangle? No. It's already done. The only thing new trustees can do is negotiate. They should, and get this dispute behind us. Litigation is expensive and there's a lot of uncertainty. It's very scary. These businesses are still open, and you're looking to shut them down. You go around elsewhere and see some empty buildings and plazas with nothing in them. This is occupied. It's alive and people like it. It's a difficult issue. When whoever gets elected, they have to sit down, look at the facts, and work out a settlement.

Is there room for a compromise between those involved, especially if it can't be reversed as you said?

That's possible. That's where this election will be important. Can you stop the eminent domain proceedings? No. That's done and we have to move on. But what we probably can do is say how can we structure this to make it work for everyone? We have establishments open and making money; let's see how we can make it work. People want Randy's. People want the shoe store, the café, the barbershop. People are constantly going in and out. Let's try to keep them there. Is it easy? No.

It'd be foolish for someone to say it's going to stop. Anyone who says that is lying. The issue is now how to make these people whole. If we can change the plans to make them as happy as possible, that's great. I think people need to hit the table and say let's make this work. Litigation is only a tool. I think deep down that the mayor and trustees didn't intend to harm anyone. They were looking out for the best for Orland Park. Could it have been done better, and could they have gotten more input? Probably.

What are your thoughts on the development plans as they are?

I know I don't want to see more strip malls. We have them. I want to see something different, something where people can walk around. There's talk about apartments there. I'm not so sure that's what you want there. With apartments, my big concern is they're still apartments. If you want to make a place family-oriented, you don't want apartment complexes right there. People can say they're high dollar. But can you substantiate a high-dollar apartment in this economy? What happens if you don't rent them out?  It can be a recipe for success or failure.

What is missing on the board right now?

The board needs someone who's raising a family right now and understands from that point of view. There's nothing wrong with (Trustee Ed) Schussler. But he's in a different part of his life. He's raised his family and he's retired. He's offered a lot to this town, and he's a good man. But where do we want to go in the future? (Trustee Patricia) Gira I think is a nice person, but I don't think she relates to people raising families anymore. Unless you're in that situation you might not know. You should have people from different parts of their careers on the board.

I'm always here. If someone ever says 'I can't get a hold of Fotopoulos,' they're lying. My offices are on John Humphrey Drive. People stop by all the time now. If this town doesn't go well, my business goes down the tube. If Orland Park fails, I fail.

What shouldn't be cut in time of revenue shortage?

The number one thing you want to make sure is well-funded and well-staffed is the police department. I will not stand for any reductions of manpower or give any type of second-rate equipment to our police department. That's our front line of defense. Any type of cut must come from somewhere else before touching the police department. It's not just crime. It's accidents and health issues. I'm conservative about finances, but I won't touch public health and safety. Also don't mess with public works. We want our streets clean and plowed. That's why you pay your taxes.

Instead, go in and say who are the political appointees? Who's here who shouldn't be here? I'm sure there are layers of fat in the village. Every village has them. If a position is unnecessary get rid of it. I don't care if it's someone's niece or nephew. If you need to cut and reduce taxes, you can do it. People do it for their families every day. If we operate our home the way politicians operate government we'd be done. Sometimes you have to say no. I think it's a big problem when you have a board of seven people agreeing 90 percent of the time that's a problem. My wife and I don't always agree. I think people aren't looking at the numbers and at the agendas.  I sit at meetings, I wonder where's the discussion?  I'd like to see meetings broadcast online. I guarantee there wouldn't be as many yes votes then.

What other changes should be made?

Here's what troubles me. If you look at the recent tax bill, the Orland Fire District charge is higher than the village of Orland Park. Police, streets, sanitation, and one department is taxing you more than what the whole village taxes? That is absurd. If there is a way to take that over, enough is enough let's get rid of this taxing body that is wasteful. Now if it comes down to a referendum, I'd be the first one on board. That's a lot of money.  I have no problem with people being compensated, but the village of Orland Park operates all these other departments they are taxing less? That's a problem.

I think what happened with the (village) board, when the times were good they were spending money and not thinking about the future. You have to run your government like a household. There are things you spend money on because you have to. But historically, it's not a news flash, every 10 to 15 years we go through a recession. You can see it in a history book. If you know it's coming, save for it.

When someone sits on the board for so many years, and there's no change there, there's no reason to look at the numbers and ask if things are being done right. I think mayors should be two terms. And trustees I could probably limit those to two terms as well, but I can see those going to three terms. There's a reason our founding fathers limited the presidency to two terms. After eight years you want a fresh set of eyes to look at the situation. I hate the word party and hard D or hard R. Nothing is black and white. If someone says, "I'm a hard D and I'm voting this way," run from that candidate or that person. Any time of extreme is a problem.

When you tell people you are running, what issues are on their minds?

People ask me when are we going to get rid of the red light cameras on La Grange Road. When there's an infraction, let the police officer make the call. When you put that type of system up it's like Big Brother looking at you, and give us our $100. That's not the type of environment we want to cultivate. The officers are trained. They know what they are doing. Let the officer make the determination.

I went to one of the municipal hearings, and this woman in her 80s walks up. It's clear she meant no harm, but she had a red light ticket. All the hearing officer can say is "I'm not allowed to deviate per village instructions." They bring up the video, sure enough she ran the light, and she's hit for $100 or so. She says she's on a fixed income, Social Security. Is the hearing officer afraid to say not liable? Give the people an honest hearing. What about supervision? As a trial attorney, that really bothered me.