The Hoops Are Back in Town: Here’s How We Helped
Clyde Park on July 20th, 2022 in Cicero, Ill., where the rims of basketball hoops were removed in 2020 (Efraín Soriano for Cicero Independiente).
Photography and reporting by Efraín Soriano
Over the past couple of years Cicero has seen many changes to its parks and recreation centers. Such as new playgrounds, the ongoing renovation of Manor pool and the upcoming construction of the new Inclusion Park. However, in spite of all the new additions, many youth asked questions about the basketball courts in Cicero which seemed to have become a forgotten element of the parks. Readers on social media often asked Cicero Independiente what happened to them and whether they would be coming back.
The Cicero Police Department and Clyde Park District cited concerns over crime for the removal of the rims. Yet inquiries from Cicero Independiente showed that in the last four years only three incidents have been reported at the courts. On October 21, after Cicero Independiente attended several meetings spanning weeks and followed up with CPD and the Clyde Park District, the courts were finally reopened.
Three parks with outdoor basketball courts had the rims of the basketball hoops removed as well as chaining and padlocking their courts in April of 2020. Photo taken on July 20th, 2022, Efraín Soriano for Cicero Independiente.
Park closures
In April 2020 the Clyde Park District closed all of the outdoor basketball courts with chains and padlocks and all basketball rims were removed from the courts at Warren Park, Hawthorne Park and North Clyde Park.
The property on Central Ave and 32nd Street that includes Antonio Carbajal soccer field previously had two basketball courts on the east side but the rims and backboards are no longer there. A new Morton College scoreboard appears to have been built on one end of the courts. A FOIA request sent to Morton College has not been answered so it remains unclear if these courts belong to the park district, and whether or not they will be reopened down the line.
To find out what happened to the basketball rims, Cicero Independiente attended the Clyde Park district board meeting in August 2022. When a Cicero Independiente reporter asked executive director Mark Kraft about the decision to close the basketball courts, Kraft cited crime concerns.
“There was documented drive-by shootings at Warren Park and a documented murder at a park. We received a public safety request by the [Cicero Police Department] to take down the rims,” said Kraft. “We remain in contact periodically with the CPD for a number of things and suddenly this recently came up, and they requested us to keep them down to this day.”
Cicero Independiente followed up with the Cicero police. On August 27, 2022, Deputy Superintendent Luis Gutierrez said he was unaware that the courts were closed and had no knowledge of the request made by CPD. He later stated in person that he was able to verify with ex-Police Superintendent Jerry Chlada Jr. that a suggestion was made by CPD to close all courts in Cicero with the goal of deterring crime.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was then sent to CPD asking for any records, communications or agreements between the police department and the park district regarding the closure of the basketball courts. The town stated that they did not possess any documents responsive to this request.
In their justifications for the closures, both the CPD and the Clyde Park District alluded to the unfortunate murder of Irving Estrada, 17, at Warren Park on August 22, 2017. His death occurred three years before the courts would eventually be closed. Five years later the loss of Irving Estrada is still deeply felt by the community. However, records show no other incidents occurred to justify these “crime deterring measures” in 2020.
According to documents obtained from the police department through a FOIA request, since January 2019 only three incident reports have been filed at parks with basketball courts for tagging and one instance of possession of a BB gun.
Cicero Independiente shared these stats with Deputy Supt. Gutierrez who agreed to further investigate the matter.
Reopening
“After my research I did not find anything alarming that would require the courts to remain closed,” said Gutierrez in an interview on October 11, 2022. “If the Clyde Park District wanted to reopen the courts, the police department would have no objections.”
Shortly after this conversation on October 11, Kraft sent Cicero Independiente an email that stated, “Thank you for reaching out to Clyde Park district and the Cicero Police Department in regards to the basketball rims. We will have them re-installed within the week.”
As of October 21, 2022 the rims have finally been reinstalled at Hawthorne and North Clyde park.
Mauricio Boix, a member of the Board of Directors for the Boys Club, documented the reopening of the courts with this post on Facebook that amassed over 100 likes within a few hours.
The comments section of Boix’s post was full of excitement and celebration. Some commenters began to schedule meetups to hoop, while others hoped that the park district would reopen the rest of the courts.
If you or anyone you know has any comments or concerns regarding Clyde Park facilities we encourage you to share them at their next board meeting on November 15, 2022 at 5:00 PM. All board meetings are held in the Cicero Stadium located at 1909 South Laramie Ave.
Efrain Soriano is a local freelance photographer and a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente. You can follow them on Instagram @freeepaint.
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