Town Board Approves Hiring of New Director of Translation Services
By Irene Romulo
The Town of Cicero may soon ramp up its translation services for town residents. At the November 26, 2019, Town Board meeting, trustees approved an ordinance to create the position of Director of Translation Services. The position will go to someone appointed by Town President Larry Dominick and will be tasked with “performing translation of written text from English into Spanish for various Town news publications and social settings,” according to language in the ordinance.
The ordinance states that the Director of Translation will be able to hold other public offices at the Town and will receive separate compensation, to be determined by the Department of Human Services, for the position.
In an emailed statement, Town spokesperson Ray Hanania said the decision to create this new position will help, “eliminate redundancies and provide consistency in message.”
Cicero Independiente launched in July of this year with a primary goal of providing bilingual local coverage to Cicero where more than 80% of residents are Latinx and speak a language other than English at home. These efforts include providing updates for Cicero residents about decisions made at the Town board meetings.
Town board meetings, which are held at ten in the morning on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, are held in English only. The ordinances and resolutions discussed at the board meetings are published in English and are only available to residents who fill out a Freedom of Information Act request. You can read some of our bilingual summaries of the board meetings on our website.
Blanca Vargas, Cicero resident and local committeewoman, was one of two residents who offered public comments at the Tuesday board meeting.
Vargas has consistently asked board trustees to consider hosting afternoon meetings so that Cicero residents who work during the day can attend. At the meeting, Town President Larry Dominick made clear that board meetings will not be moving to the evenings anytime soon.
“We’ve talked about it. It’s a seven to nothing vote,” Dominick said. “[The town trustees] don’t want to do nights.”
In nearby Berwyn, residents have also pushed their local government to provide adequate interpretation services for all council meetings.
In August, Berwyn resident, Luz Chavez, submitted a letter to the Berwyn City Council requesting the implementation of a comprehensive bilingual communications plan. In the letter she stated that the lack of Spanish translations, “leaves a significant portion of the population in the dark about issues affecting their everyday lives, and it cuts them out of the decision-making process for addressing those issues.”
