Cicero Shares Park Budget Changes and Hazard Plan; Resident Urges End to Gang Database
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. April Alonso/ Cicero Independiente
By Angela Arias
The Town met once in February 2025 to approve several ordinances, resolutions, permits, and new business items, including cost changes in the construction contract for the Cicero Inclusive Playground Phil Fuentes Park and the adoption of the 2024 Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan adds five new mitigation actions for weather or climate-related emergencies to the three already reported by the Town administration. Cicero also authorized the opening of a gaming cafe on W Cermak Road and hired an entertainment company for three public celebration events. Finally, a community member advocated for ending the gang member’s database.
You can access the documents shown in this recap by clicking here for the February 11 meeting. For live streams of these meetings, visit our Facebook page.
Ordinances
Inclusive Playground Phil Fuentes Park
The Board approved four new cost changes in the $4,189,600 contract with Burling Builders Inc. to build the Inclusive Playground Phil Fuentes Park on 1800-1900 Laramie Avenue. These changes include three new expenses of $30,000, $1,602, $2,854.88 and a refund of $15,248.
Tim Geary, the Town of Cicero Engineer, directed Burling Builders to sub-contract Soil and Material Consultants Inc. (SMC) for material testing services after their bid was found to be the lowest ($14,079). Hiring SMC is subject to the condition that costs do not exceed $30,000.
The $1,602 new expense comes after American Backhoe Co. investigated and mitigated a 3-inch gas line found at the playground construction site.
The $2,854.88 new expense will cover the possible need to disconnect a B-Box found at the playground construction site from the water main line on the east side of Laramie Avenue.
The $15,248 refund comes after soil quantities removed in 2 locations at the construction site were 785.35 tons lower than initially estimated.
CCS International claims the three expenses will be withdrawn from the $245,000 contract’s contingency fund, and the refund will go to that fund. A contingency fund is an allotted sum of money reserved for emergency expenses. So far, the remaining balance for the contingency fund in this contract is $214,191.93, from the initial $245,000. The total contract amount of $4,189,600 is not supposed to change.
A New Gaming Cafe
The board also approved a special use permit for Braidwood Real Estate Inc. to operate a gaming cafe on 6126 West Cermak Road. The ordinance states the applicant provided evidence that the cafe will not alter the essential character of the area or negatively impact neighboring property values.
Resolutions
2024 Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
The board also approved a resolution to adopt the 2024 Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held a mandatory planning process with 125 Cook County jurisdictions where they drafted this plan. Cicero is one of those jurisdictions and it is required to prepare and adopt a local plan with mitigation actions as a condition for future FEMA funding.
Cicero reported to FEMA the status of 3 actions meant to lessen the negative impact of weather emergencies, such as heat waves, flooding or fires:
The Town of Cicero reported having created and implemented a public awareness and education program in 2019 to increase the Cicero homeless population's knowledge of how to seek shelter during extreme weather conditions. Cicero Fire Department, with the support of the Cicero Police Department, were in charge of creating an action plan to notify citizens without housing verbally, in written form and in multiple languages where they could go when seeking refuge.
The estimated annual cost for this program is $50,000.
The Town reported having created and implemented in 2019 an education program on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for Cicero residents. Cicero Fire Department (CFD), with the assistance of all fire companies, was supposed to educate residents verbally and in writing, using Cicero’s television channel, a booklet, the Town’s website, and social media channels, on “how important smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are to save lives and property.” CFD would also go door to door, explaining this information to residents and providing monoxide detectors if they don’t have one.
The estimated annual cost for this program is $78,000.
The Town reported having created and implemented in 2019 a Cicero Green Infrastructure Project where 9 alleyway sections were paved and 12 more were scheduled to be paved in 2024. However, there is no update of what happened with those 12 remaining alleyways as of February 2025.
The estimated annual cost for this program was not disclosed.
According to the documents the Town administration presented along with the agenda, the Town of Cicero committed to the following 5 new actions meant to lessen the negative impact of weather emergencies, such as heat waves, flooding or fires:
Construction of a storm water management facility at Kolar Park, on 3600 S. 61st Avenue, including a water detention facility under the softball field area.
Construction of flood storage and 3,000 ft of sewer valued at $7’000.000 along 57th Court, 57th Avenue, and 56th Court on North Cermak Road, to protect 99 residential structures, 10 commercial or industrial structures and 300 basements from flooding.
Construction of flood storage and 6,000 ft of sewer in the Southeast Corner of Cicero, around 32nd Place and 50th Court, to protect 220 residential structures and 2 commercial or residential structures from flooding.
Construction of flood storage and 6,500 ft of sewer to increase conveyance capacity in the area of 32nd Place and 50th Court and provide protection for approximately 220 residential structures and 140 commercial or industrial structures in the Southeast corner of the town form overland flooding.
Construction of flood storage and 5,000 ft of sewer conveyance in the area of North Cermak Road, along 48th Court and 49th Ave. to protect 100 residential structures and 20 commercial and industrial structures from overland flooding.
No cost or timeline for four out of the five new actions were included in the agenda documents. In addition, it is unclear if this will be part of the HUD action plan, where there is planned community input and public hearing ahead of the action plan deadline by June 15, 2025. Only the cost for the action along 57th Court, 57th Avenue, and 56th Court on North Cermak Road was included.
Monetary Settlement in Garey Conley v. Town of Cicero
The Board approved the payment of the monetary settlement in the case Gary Conley v. Town of Cicero, with a total value of $2,536.14 per week for 18 weeks. The amount the employee will receive is $28,636.36 after deduction of fees and costs.
Agreement with Klandestino Entertainment Inc.
The Board also approved an agreement between the President and Klandestino Entertainment Inc. to provide rental equipment and music artist engagement services during town events celebrating the Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo and Houby Fest, with a total value of $195,000.
New Business
The motion to authorize and approve the payment of a bonus to the crossing guards employed by the Town and the motion to authorize the issuance and payment of a warrant for the Town of Cicero on February 25, 2025 were approved.
Citizens Comments
A crossing guard (Left in photo), currently unhoused, has been having problems getting her social security check. The situation has prevented her from having a regular everyday life since Thanksgiving 2024.
A long-time member of the Cicero community, Delia B (Right in photo)., advocated for the elimination of Cicero’s gang member database and the gang contract because, according to her, they work as a pipeline between the school and the prison systems. Furthermore, she asked the president and trustees to protect the immigrant community of Cicero from attacks by signing the Welcoming City Ordinance to not work with ICE.
A Cicero community member, identified as Larry H., expressed his gratitude for the help he has received from the Water Department to access the service at his property.
Angela Arias is a communication professional with experience in research, content creation, translation, and publishing for socially oriented and non-profit organizations. Passionate about understanding and explaining the impact of mismisinformation and disinformation on Latine communities in Illinois and across the Midwest.
Want to read more stories like this? Consider donating to support our work. Your money goes directly towards paying journalists of color to report on local news.
SUBSCRIBE
Bringing you news from the 60804