Cicero Board Discusses Literacy Initiatives, Updates Policies and Makes Key Appointments
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. April Alonso/Cicero Independiente
By Luis Velazquez
The Town of Cicero Board of Trustees and President Larry Dominick met twice in January 2024 to discuss various ordinances and resolutions.
In January, the town board discussed a range of issues, including future community events, school literacy initiatives, ordinance amendments and announced key appointments to town committees.
Access the documents shown in this recap by clicking on these links: January 9 and January 23. For live streams of these meetings, visit our Facebook page.
PERMITs
The Town Board has approved a series of St. Valentine's event permits featuring community celebrations at St. Mary Frances Parish and Our Lady of Czestochowa & Charity Parish. Alongside these festive gatherings, Erie Neighborhood House has stressed the importance of securing a central Cicero outreach location to better connect with and serve the community. They've requested space at the town hall for outreach activities on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Sam's Club is planning future events for Cicero town employees and residents in 2024, with proposed dates including April 9, May 7 and June 11. These events aim at sharing membership resources with the community and are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
RESOLUTIONS
Board members enacted an ordinance to boost literacy in partnership with Cicero School District 99. This initiative includes creating literacy programs and utilizing school facilities to promote reading skills among elementary students. The program will use school facilities across ten schools, which include Lincoln Elementary School, Cicero West Elementary School and Unity Junior High School. The Town will provide the district with $30,000 for their literacy initiative.
The town amended Ordinance No. 70-23 to correct an error to ensure members of the Senior Advisory Commission and Stormwater Advisory Board are compensated $1,200 annually for their service.
The board has decided not to follow Cook County's Paid Leave rules, choosing instead to create its policy that ensures employees get at least one day of paid leave every year.
According to the agenda, the board determined this decision because following Cook County’s Paid Leave rules “will negatively impact the town and place an undue financial and operational burden on the town’s ability to provide uninterrupted services to its residents.”
TOWN SPENDING
The Town will spend up to $355,000 on the 2024 Green Alley Paving Improvements Project with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. MWRD will cover about 50% of the costs.
The construction for the 2024 Green Alley Paving Project will start at the following locations within the Town of Cicero:
1800 Block between 51st Avenue and 50th Court
1900 Block between 51st Avenue and 50th Court
According to the agenda, residents of these blocks were notified last year of this proposed project. No starting date was mentioned in the agenda.
Cicero's Housing Department was awarded a $1.7 million grant by the Illinois Housing Development Authority to improve housing for homeowners. The grant requires the department to use new electronic software, a technology that the department currently lacks, according to the agenda.
The Town plans to buy this software from Benevate, Inc., known as Neighborly Software, to meet the grant's requirements and provide services faster. The total cost for the Town to implement and operate the software system for the first year amounts to $14,300.
The board has passed an ordinance to regulate video gaming terminal operations, imposing a $750 annual fee for each video gaming terminal. The amendment, aimed at promoting responsible gaming and supporting economic growth, revises the town's video gaming code.
The town has updated its vehicle towing and storage regulations, revising fees to reflect service costs, ranging from $200 to $250 for towing and $40 to $60 for daily storage, among other fees.
SETTLEMENTS
Jake Kolin, a worker from the Cicero Fire Department, has settled a lawsuit with the town for $70,517.53 after injuring his knee during training in 2022.
Saul Diaz filed a lawsuit against the Town of Cicero and three officers, alleging Fourth Amendment rights violations for false arrest, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution on July 24, 2020. The parties agreed to settle for $50,000 to avoid further legal costs.
Ruben Perez also filed a lawsuit to the Town of Cicero, alleging personal injury. To avoid prolonged legal proceedings, the Town settled the matter through an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Settlement Contract. The agreement resolves the issue for $21,755.52.
Stephen Hendrick, a Cicero Police Department employee, has settled a workers' compensation case for $43,586.50, resolving claims for permanent partial disability and medical expenses from injuries sustained on duty. Hendrick was injured while responding to a call for police assistance.
APPOINTMENTS
More than 500 individuals have been appointed to different roles within the town. Appointments include Joe Virusso, chair for the Finance Committee, Victor Garcia, serving on the Fire and Police Committee and Blanca Vargas, chair of the Licenses, Health & Welfare Committee.
RESIDENT COMMENTS
Cicero Independiente’s editor, Luis Velazquez, provided updates to the Cicero Town board regarding the local Kopper’s plant and its history of EPA violations. Velazquez attempted to ask questions about the topic. However, the attorney from the Town of Cicero's legal department Michael T. Del Gado mentioned that questions weren’t allowed during the resident’s comment portion of the meeting.
Leslie Hurtado is a contributing reporter with Cicero Independiente. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications at Northeastern Illinois University. She worked at several news rooms including WBEZ, WTTW, Telemundo and City Bureau.
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