Town of Cicero Receives More Than One Million Dollars In Grants, Plans To Open A New Park
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, July 12th, 2022. April Alonso for Cicero Independiente.
By Efraín Soriano
The Town of Cicero Board gathered on July 26, 2022 to review and approve various ordinances and resolutions.
Those resolutions and ordinances included the promotion of a new Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief for the Cicero Fire Department, the promotion of a new Sergeant for the Cicero Police Department, the approval of the 2022 Annual Action Plan for funds received from the Community Development Block Grant Program and the announcement of the new Inclusion Park to be constructed on 19th Street and Laramie Avenue.
You can find all the documents used for this recap here.
Here is a summary of the agenda items:
Permits
Four block party permits were brought up at once by Town Clerk Maria Punzo-Arias and the following three locations were approved without objection:
2300 Block of 61st Avenue
2500 Block of 57th Avenue
3500 Block of 55th Court
The permit for the 4900 Block of 29th Street was denied due to lack of signatures from residents. Police Superintendent Jerry Chlada also mentioned a “significant increase to gang activity and five shootings within a two block area near this location” as reasons for the suggestion to deny the request.
The board approved a permit to provide a police and fire escort for the annual J. Sterling Morton High School Homecoming parade on September 10, 2022 from 10 am to 12 pm. Street closures for the parade include:
26th Street from Austin Boulevard to Home Avenue
Austin Boulevard from 24th to 26th Street
Promotions
The council chambers were packed on this Tuesday morning with family and friends waiting to congratulate three individuals for their promotions in the Cicero Fire and Police Department respectively.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Penzkofer was promoted to the position of Fire Chief.
Lieutenant Jonathon Sochaki was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief.
Officer Steven Kelly was promoted to Sergeant for Cicero Police Department.
Town Spending
All the invoices approved by the Town of Cicero board have been condensed for easier viewing down below. Remember you can always see the invoices in complete detail in the aforementioned documents.
Community Development Block Grant Program
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a program offered through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) The program requires the Town of Cicero to follow specific guidelines to use the $1,669,561 CDBG grant, and the production of an annual action plan denoting the proposed budget for the year. In agenda item 9.G, Town of Cicero board members approved the following budget in the Annual Action Plan for 2022.
Source: Town of Cicero
Administration:
Housing Rehabilitation:
Lead Hazard Reduction:
Public Services
Public Facilities
The board then moved to approve an amendment for the 2019 CDBG Annual Action Plan. This amendment reduced the budget allocated for the Water Bill assistance program from $100,000 to $40,000. At a public hearing held on July 12, 2022, Executive Director of the Cicero Department of Housing Tom M. Tomschin said that the Water Bill program “didn’t necessarily go as planned, even though it was advertised throughout the Town.”
Earlier this year in May, Cicero Independiente reported that only $11,674 of the $100,000 budget had been used since the Water Bill program began in December, 2021. At that time questions still remained about how and where the remainder of this money would be utilized.
This amendment reallocates $60,000 from the Water Bill program, and $565,733 in unused CDBG COVID-19 funds towards the following new construction projects:
Town of Cicero Inclusion Park - This park would be located on 19th Street and Laramie Avenue. and the town describes it as “a safe park space for children where they can play on equipment designed for all capabilities, whether they are special needs or not.” The total approved budget for Inclusion Park is $525,733.
Library Quiet Rooms - Two quiet rooms would be built in the Cicero Public Library for anyone to go study alone or in small tutoring groups. The rooms are expected to have small cubicles to encourage social distancing. The total approved budget is $100,000.
Settlements of Litigation
The first case settled was Jamarie Coleman v. Town of Cicero which regarded the termination of Police Officer Coleman. Coleman was suspended in December of 2019 following disciplinary charges filed against him alleging the use of excessive force when he struck a 16-year-old in the face. An investigation conducted by the town’s Office of Professional Standards found that neither the minor, or Coleman’s partner who was on scene, believed that Coleman’s force was justified.
The settlement resulted in the following agreement between Coleman and the Town:
Coleman will be paid $15,000,
Coleman will resign from his position with the Town,
The Town will waive $15,252.76 in debt Coleman owed regarding health insurance premiums that were mistakenly not billed to Coleman.
According to a memo from the Del Galdo Law Group prepared for the board, the settlement “ensures that Coleman will not be employed by the Town of Cicero moving forward. It also eliminates the possibility of a back pay award that would be greater than the settlement amount negotiated herein.”
Following the approval of this settlement President Larry Dominick had this to say about Coleman, “We’re glad to get rid of him, piece of crap,” said Dominick. “What a nutjob.”
The second settlement approved was for the workers compensation case Carlos Palomar v. Town of Cicero. Palomar sustained an injury to his right knee while transporting a person in custody and the Town agreed to pay Palomar a total of $32,789.84.
Efrain Soriano is a local freelance photographer and a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente.
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