Town of Cicero reaches two settlements worth over $327,000 and a $25,000 Literacy Program Collaboration with District 99
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. April Alonso/ Cicero Independiente
By Melina Pineda Aguilar
The Town of Cicero Board of Trustees and President Larry Dominick met twice in the month of January 2025 to discuss various permits and resolutions.
In January, the town approved many ordinances and resolutions to fund various spending needs, such as officeware for the Cicero Police Department, more vehicles for town use and better signs and information about public transportation stops in Cicero, and approvals for the continued building of the Phil Fuentes disability accessible park.
You can access the documents shown in this recap by clicking here for the January 14 meeting and January 28 meeting. For live streams of these meetings, visit our Facebook page.
Permits
There were several Valentine’s Day events that were passed by the Town of Cicero, which include permits submitted by Our Lady, the Mystical Rose, St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds and St. Mary of Czestochowa. All churches had similar Valentine’s Day dinner dances or fundraises, which the Town passed.
Erie House, a nonprofit organization that provides support to immigrant and low-income families, will be at the town hall on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. However, it was not mentioned when they would start being there or for how long.
Town Spending
The Town has approved an ordinance that will pay technology company Xerox $1,260 monthly for 60 months for leasing 10 printers to the Cicero Police Department. According to Amanda Wolff, director of Information Technology, “the Police Department is in need of new printers and copiers for their daily operations.” By the end of the 60 month contract, the police department will have paid $75,600 for printers.
The Town also approved the purchase of 702 95-gallon plastic outdoor garbage bins at $53 each from Rehrig Pacific Company, and paid a total of $38,006. They then received a $30,729 invoice from RAE Products & Chemicals Corporation for a Graco ThermoLazer ProMelt. Both of these invoices were on behalf of the Cicero Public Works Department.
The board reached and approved a settlement was reached for the case of Tamara Cuchna v. Town of Cicero. Cuchna and their attorney would receive a total of $47,955.24, of which Cuchna would receive $38,164.19 due to a workplace accident in which they tripped and fell and would be out for 10 weeks to recover from the injuries they incurred on May 24, 2018. This case was settled on October 14, 2024. The board also approved a settlement, Javier Acosta v. The Town of Cicero, for $280,000 on November 20, 2024. The Town also approved $17,000 for Bright Lights Productions Inc. for the lighting of two events, Cinco de Mayo, May 1-5, 2025, and Mexican Fest, September 10-15, 2025.
The Health Department purchased 23 Hepatitis-A vaccines from the pharmaceutical company GSK for $15,692.21. These vaccines were shipped to the health department on September 16th, 2024.
The Town received an undisclosed amount of federal funding under the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), and with it, they have made purchases totaling $8,635,276.33 to be paid with this stimulus funding. Purchases included 6 2025 Ford F350 Pickup trucks worth$331,188, 10 2025 Ford Interceptors worth $481,840.00, various types of water meters worth $2,913,460.00, and 4 GPS systems worth $136,936.00. During the 2025 Town of Cicero budget hearing in March, they broke down their spending, including ARPA funds, here.
Ordinances
The Town has authorized an agreement between themselves and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) that will put up more public transportation signs and replace some existing ones. According to the agenda, the purpose of this is to make information regarding where to find certain stops, like Metra or CTA pink line stops more accessible, and easier to see for people of all needs. These signs will range from signals to show which way to a pink line stop to full bus route information with designated times and stops. They have agreed to support the installation of signs wherever the RTA has deemed necessary, and the RTA will incur all costs of this project.
The IT department will be disposing of various pieces of technology that are no longer serving the departments anymore and have no value. These items range from computers to printers to accessories, such as mouses and scanners.
There will be an installation of a stop sign on the intersection of 16th Street at 61st Court for the safety of pedestrians. The stop sign was to be installed within 10 days of the ordinance being passed.
The Stormwater Advisory Board has now revised their code of ordinances, and will now be having 5 town residents on their board instead of 4. According to the agenda, this will now be hopefully increasing the input of resident thoughts into future stormwater meetings and decisions.
A zoning map amendment was also approved for a building and connecting parking lot at 2410 South Central Avenue. This amendment was requested for a potential daycare center to be established there. The amendment acknowledges that the owner will have to follow any changes to the building that departments like the Fire department may request. These changes include a potential sprinkler system, making sure there’s more than one exit and making no large changes because its current character of the building and area “is best for public interest,” according to the agenda.
The Board approved an ordinance proposed by various companies involved, such as CSS International, Burling Builders, and Andor Electric, to construct the disability-accessible park. The ordinance explains that $11,599.19 of extra charges for materials and labor must be accounted for, but would not be charged because of the contract that the Town had previously signed. These charges account for items such as electrical materials and labor, such as cutting down surrounding bushes and trees.
The Town of Cicero and School District 99 have signed an agreement to promote literacy awareness in Cicero schools by continuing the reading club, in which Unity Jr. High School students go to elementary schools to help younger students with their literacy skills. The Town will provide District 99 with $25,000 and the ability to use the school areas, such as classrooms and lunchrooms, for all the program’s needs. This agreement will include the following schools: Lincoln, Cicero West, Goodwin, Unity, Sherlock, Warren Park, Drexel and Columbus West for the 2024-2025 school year and the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
The Board also approved an ordinance to purchase 58,050 vehicle stickers from Rydin, a decal company, for $20,172.38 on January 21, 2025.
White Oak Tree Properties, LLC wished to construct apartments above an existing building at 6034-36 West 26th Street. With the advice of the Planning and Zoning Commission of Cicero to reduce parking spots from 12 to 10, the ordinance for this change was approved. Similarly, there was a request to reduce the number of parking spots at 3513 South 59th Avenue to 6 spots because of an approved construction of 6 condominiums in an existing building.
Resolutions
Tom Tomschin mentioned the Town of Cicero was awarded $96,004,000 from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for disaster relief from the 2023 floods that caused damage to countless homes and buildings around Cicero. During the town board meeting, it was said that this grant would come with 5 weeks of training on how to use these funds appropriately, but ultimately, the purpose of this grant is to mitigate future potential disasters that may occur.
Esteban Rodriguez, a Cicero resident and candidate for town president, spoke during public comment to invite President Larry Dominick to a candidates forum. After being interrupted and told not to discuss politics, he continued speaking as a resident, seeking information about $96 million in HUD funding received by the town. April Alonso / Cicero Independiente
Resident Comments
Resident and previous town president challenger during the February local elections, Esteban Rodriguez, attempted to tell the board that he had sent a letter to President Dominick and their press team to inform and invite him to a public forum to discuss the upcoming election in front of residents, to which he was told that politics could not be discussed during these meetings. Rodriguez went on to ask questions about the allocation of the $96 million that the federal government granted Cicero due to the 2023 floodings, to which he was told this is a place to express comments and not questions, but that funds are being properly allocated.
Melina Pineda Aguilar is a freelance reporter with Cicero Independiente. She graduated with a B.A. in Politics and Spanish at Lake Forest College.
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