Residents tell a village board its phone chatbot won't put them through to a person

ORLAND PARK, Ill., October 2026 — Two Orland Park residents told the village board they couldn't get past its new AI phone assistant to a person. Here's what launched, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Oct. 7, 2026)

Cost: $43,500 for year 1, $31,000 for year 2 and $32,000 for year 3, a total of $106,500; two optional years would raise the cap to $173,500. (Village of Orland Park)
Outcome: "I never could be connected to a person at all," a resident told trustees on Oct. 5. (The Regional News)
Village's response: "We will follow up directly on those issues," Mayor James Dodge said. (The Regional News)

What launched

On April 6, the village board took up a sole-source agreement with Citibot for "an AI chatbot with IVR solutions," the village's Legistar record shows. The board voted 7-0 to approve it, The Regional News reported. Staff said the system could integrate with the village's Tyler 311 service-request system.

"We get a lot of calls for information that are easily out there," Village Manager George Koczwara said, according to The Regional News.

The village launched the assistant, named for its first mayor, John Humphrey, in late August, Patch reported. Residents reach it through orlandpark.org and the village's main number, The Regional News reported.

"I'm a pretty big believer that we can use technology in ways to improve public service and do it cost-effectively," Dodge told the Daily Southtown. Village employees were directed to monitor Humphrey to make sure it provides accurate information, the paper reported.

What staff said in September

At a Sept. 9 Committee of the Whole meeting, Director of Information Technology Tad Spencer said Humphrey uses only information the village provides. "It is not going to be able to access general internet information," he said.

"We get reports on a daily basis on what's being asked," Spencer said. "We review this with the vendor on a monthly basis."

"I wanted to make sure that when people call the village, they didn't get trapped in an old-school phone system," Dodge said at that meeting.

What residents said

At the board's Oct. 5 meeting, resident Pam Stepansky said she had called four times. "It kept saying I would be connected to a person, and this was like 11 a.m. on a weekday," she said. "I can't believe we can't talk to anybody in the village."

She also said she can't come into Village Hall to talk to someone because "there is no longer an information desk," The Regional News reported.

Resident Karen Drake said she tried to ask about the Pumpkin Party. "It was exhausting trying to get through," she said. "I had to come in physically and try to get the issue that I was having taken care of." She said it took "like two hours of my time. I used to be able to call, and you would get a person."

What the village said

Dodge said it will get looked into. "We will follow up directly on those issues," he said. "A human will call you."

The Regional News noted that it was "a small sample size."

What went wrong

The way to a person didn't work for these callers. One resident said the system kept promising a person but never connected her.
No information desk, a resident says. Stepansky said there is no longer an information desk at Village Hall.
What we don't know yet: how many callers ask for a person, how many reach one, and whether the residents got their promised call-back.

Our follow-up question for the Village of Orland Park

How many callers to the main number asked Humphrey for a person since August, and how many were connected?

Sources

Village of Orland Park, Legistar, “File #: 2026-0231, Citibot Chatbot and IVR Solution,” April 6, 2026. orlandpark.legistar.com
The Regional News, “Orland Park launches AI chatbot to answer resident questions 24/7,” April 20, 2026. southwestregionalpublishing.com
Patch, Lauren Traut, “Village Of Orland Park Launches New AI Virtual Assistant 'Humphrey',” Aug. 25, 2026. patch.com
Daily Southtown, Olivia Stevens, via Government Technology, “Chicago Suburb Launches New Chatbot Named Humphrey,” Aug. 31, 2026. govtech.com
The Regional News, Jeff Vorva, “Orland Park launches AI chatbot named Humphrey,” Sept. 16, 2026. southwestregionalpublishing.com
The Regional News, Jeff Vorva, “Orland Park residents say village chatbot won't connect them,” Oct. 7, 2026. southwestregionalpublishing.com
Citibot, Inc., Form D filing, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2024. sec.gov

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder