January 11, Town Board Meeting Recap: ‘That idiot Dr. Fauci’
During the first board meeting of the new year on January 11th, 2022, several items were discussed and the death of Cicero Trustee Larry Banks was acknowledged during the meeting. President Larry Dominick (Center) looks at Clerk Maria Punoz-Arias (L) as she reads off a paper (Photo by Jesus J. Montero).
By Michael Izquierdo
The Cicero Town Board met on January 11 for their first board meeting of the new year, discussing items from the settlement agreement for the case of Elizabeth Gamez v. Town of Cicero Police Department, appointing Lesia M. Yarbrough to the Board of Water Commissions and acknowledging the death of Cicero Trustee Larry Banks who died of COVID-19 on January 7. Unlike previous meetings, most board members and town staff wore face masks.
The meeting began with a moment of silence and prayer for Banks led by town chaplain, Ismael Vargas.
All agenda items were passed with minimal discussion except for a permit request from the Oak Park Regional Housing Center which was tabled due to a representative not being present.
Here is a summary of the meeting:
Approval of Certain Agreements and Grants
The town approved entering a revised agreement with Pace’s Locally Based Service Vehicle Program.
The program’s changes include an updated manual, an annual 10-panel drug screen required for all drivers, annual background checks for all drivers and an online portal for drivers to update their documents. Previously, drug screen requirements took place on a biannual basis and background checks were only required every three years.
Cicero Fire Department got approval to lease a new copying machine, costing the Town a total of $840.87 per month for a total of 36 months.
The Town and Cicero Public School District 99 entered a disclosure and consent to a potential and/or actual conflict of interest agreement with Del Galdo Law Group, LLC after discovering both parties are represented by the same law firm.
District 99 had requested the firm to review a Community Development Block Grant agreement they entered with the Town and wanted to ensure appropriate representation could be acquired by both parties for current and future cases.
Lastly, the Town approved an application for funds through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The grant application states that if obtained the money will be used to purchase a new “fire apparatus.” The grant application is for a total of $547,000. According to the application, Cicero’s fire department had an operating budget of $20,825,500 in 2021, 83% of which is used for personnel costs such as salaries.
New businesses coming to Cicero
Louie Rainone plans to open a barbershop at 2303 South Laramie Avenue. The barbershop will rent out four chairs for barbers and will be open Tuesday through Saturday. The town board approved granting Rainone’s application to receive a parking variance to reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces from three to zero at the location.
Settlement Agreement
A settlement agreement was reached for the case, Elizabeth Gamez v. Town of Cicero Police Department, after she sustained injuries due to a sewer incident on the job.
On January 26, 2019, Officer Gamez was searching for an alleged offender when her right leg fell into a sewer hole after the cover flipped over. This caused Gamez to undergo right knee arthroscopic surgery and weeks of recovery.
The two parties reached a settlement agreement of $30,621.86 and Gamez received $24,372.49 after paying off her attorney fees and medical expenses.
Public Comment from Larry Dominick
The meeting concluded with the reading of a resolution commending the public health department’s work in combating COVID-19 in Cicero. Town President Larry Dominick publicly thanked the public health workers, none of whom had KN95 masks, before expressing his confusion about changing public health and safety guidelines.
“One thing I don’t understand is they say, ‘get your [vaccine] shots and you don’t have to wear a mask’ and then that idiot Dr. Fauci says you have to wear a mask,” said Dominick.
“First time [Dr. Fauci] came out, he said you don’t wear any masks because masks are no good, then he went to two masks, then back to one. He said get your shots and then you don’t need to wear a mask,” Dominick continued. “They don’t know what they’re doing — especially that guy [Dr. Fauci], he’s probably a communist.”
Michael Izquierdo is a local freelance journalist and a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente.
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