Community Voice: A Park District in Hiding
Illustration by Paintbristle on Instagram
By Nelson Acevedo
Editor's note: Cicero Independiente sent several questions to Clyde Park’s Anthony Martinucci and Mark Kraft requesting comment on the statements made in this opinion piece but did not receive any response.
When a person thinks of a park they do not think of who manages it, who makes sure it is safe, who decides what type of playground equipment should go into the park or what programs are offered. Since moving to Cicero 9 years ago and visiting the town’s parks, I have noticed that there is a lack of care from the park district itself. Clyde Park District is responsible for Cicero’s parks. When you look away from the Community Park on 34th Street and the soccer field on Laramie Avenue, other smaller community parks do not get the attention they deserve.
When you move into a new community with a family, you often search for what parks and programming are available. One would expect to find information online from a park district’s website. When it comes to Cicero and the Clyde Park District that is something they do not have available to their residents. We do not know what parks belong to the district, what programs are available, who is the director, who are the elected commissioners, when are board meetings, what upgrades are planned and what was completed, or what are the goals and aspirations of the park district. Park Districts like Berwyn do have a website to find this information. For a park district like Clyde, which will have an estimated $5,048,827 cash on hand according to their 2022 budget at the end of this year, that is not how we should operate.
Grant Works Park in the summer of 2022. Taken by Efraín Soriano during the 2022 Cicero Independiente Fellowship program.
When you look into Cicero’s northern parks like Grant Works Park, Andy Lopez Park, Parkholme Park and Warren Park you can see that these parks have been needing attention from the park district for the last couple of years. They have rotting park signs, fences that are falling apart, playground equipment that spans decades, basketball courts without rims, missing swings, soccer turf that is ripped and lighting that has not been upgraded. That is just what I have personally encountered. Maintenance of these parks does not seem to be a priority.
According to documents from a Freedom of Information Act request, Clyde Park District only budgeted $500,000 into their Capital Fund for Park upgrades in 2022. The parks to receive the upgrades were West Morton Park, Kolar Park and North Warren Park. Hopefully, they can explain what upgrades were done at these parks. If they had a website they could showcase their work to make the people of this community feel like they are part of a community, especially when tax dollars are being used. What is frustrating at times is that there are programs out there to help with upgrades. The OSLAD grant from the state helps with upgrades or renovations. Over the last couple of years, COMED has had its Energy Efficiency program in order to help park districts upgrade their lighting. Converting our lighting to LED could help save money that can be put back into the parks.
When registering children for summer camp or programs available in the town of Cicero, applicants are only able to pay in person. Other park districts have different payment methods that are convenient for applicants.
In order to pay fees you have to pay in cash, in other park districts you are able to pay with a credit card. Making things easier for residents should be the goal Clyde Park District often operates as if the internet does not exist. Using Facebook as a means of communication should not be a standard for a government entity. If anything, having more information available should be a requirement.
According to the Illinois Association of Park Districts, one of the obligations of board members of Park Districts is to adopt policies that allow the organization to run more efficiently, effectively, legally and ethically. Becoming more efficient should be a priority but it does not seem like there is an urgency to upgrade any aspect of the Park District.
Communication is necessary in order to make Cicero’s population of more than 80,000 residents aware of what the plans are for the future. After the Hawthorne and Clyde combined Park Districts on January 1, 2020, I was under the impression we were going to be able to see a difference in how things are done. It has been a few years since the merger and no difference has been made or communicated. We can do better, our expectations should be higher as a community. Communities that are smaller than ours with a smaller tax base should not be doing more than we are when we are more than capable of providing more to our residents.
As a Park District that serves a primarily Latino community, we should be offering more programming like swimming classes. We shouldn’t have to go to another community outside of Cicero when the park district has pools where they can offer these classes. Having community input in order to know what other programs to offer would be a great way to gauge what to bring to the Park District and involve everyone.
The parks should bring pride to a community, not shame. Treating its residents with respect by providing information and a plan on how we will become better should be a priority. I just want the best for my community and I believe that we are capable of achieving it.
Respectfully,
A resident tired of the status quo.
Nelson Acevedo is a Cicero resident and a park district professional at a nationally recognized park district in the Chicagoland Area.
Our “Community Voice” section gives Cicero and Berwyn residents an opportunity to share their thoughts, experiences, and opinions. Information is fact-checked for accuracy. To contribute a “Community Voice” article email info@ciceroindependiente.com.
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