The Town of Cicero office on Cermak (Photo by April Alonso)

By Ankur Singh

A man who was arrested last summer after attempting to serve Cicero town president Larry Dominick a subpoena is suing the Town in federal court. The lawsuit, filed on June 4, 2019, alleges that the plaintiff William Rivera was abused by Cicero police officers as he was held in lock-up for almost 24 hours.

The subpoena Riviera was attempting to deliver ordered Larry Dominick to be deposed in a lawsuit against House Speaker Michael Madigan is suing the Town in federal court.

According to the complaint filed in court, on June 5, 2018 Rivera picked up the subpoenas to deliver to Larry Dominick and Ruth Ortega, a Town of Cicero employee. Rivera drove to the Town of Cicero city hall to deliver the letter to Dominick, but he was not there. Rivera then went to an address believed to be Dominick’s residence, but the town president wasn’t there either.

On June 7, 2018 Rivera tried again. He traveled to four addresses that day listed as residences for Larry Dominick but still could not find Dominick.

As Rivera was headed home around 1:45 p.m he was pulled over by Officer Kane of the Cicero Police Department. Officer Kane noticed Rivera’s badge and asked if he was a police officer and if he worked for Cook County. Rivera responded that he was a private process server who was given a badge by Cook County after completing his courses there.

Court documents state that, “Officer Kane told Rivera that he was not authorized to serve the subpoena because he does not work for Cook County. Rivera attempted to explain that he was a private process server and did not work for Cook County.”

Eventually several more officers arrived and Rivera was searched, patted down, and arrested.

The lawsuit further claims that, “the officer performing the processing was rough on Rivera and insulted Rivera by calling him stupid.” He was placed in a freezing cold holding cell where he wrapped himself in toilet paper to keep warm and was repeatedly denied access to an attorney after asking multiple times. While he was detained, his home in Chicago was searched by police.

Eventually Rivera was taken to an interrogation room where he was told he was being charged for stealing a package. Rivera claims he had simply picked up a package to verify if he was at Dominick’s address while trying to deliver the subpoena. He also claims the officers coerced him to sign a confession under threat of elevated charges and returning him to the freezing cold cell.

About 24 hours after he was detained, Rivera was released on bond.

Rivera’s lawsuit against the Cicero police officers argues that they violated his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizures, subject him to false arrest and imprisonment, and used excessive force.

Dominick’s Alleged Role in the Madigan Lawsuit

The subpoena that Rivera was tasked with serving to Dominick demanded that the town president sit for a deposition in a separate federal lawsuit against House Speaker Micheal Madigan.

The lawsuit alleges that Madigan ran two sham candidates in the 2016 election in the Illinois District 22 House race. The district, on Chicago’s southwest side, is majority Latinx.

Madigan’s opponent in that race, Jason Gonzalez who filed the lawsuit, claims that Madigan ran two fake candidates with Hispanic names in order to dilute and minimize the Latinx vote. A Madigan campaign aide filed the paperwork for both Joe Barboza and Grasiela Rodriguez, neither of whom actively campaigned or had official websites.

Dominick was subpoenaed to be deposed about his connections to Barboza and his possible involvement in convincing Barboza to run. According to court documents, Barboza’s wife and daughter were paid as campaign staffers in 2016 by the Cicero Voters Alliance, Larry Dominick’s political organization. Additionally, Barboza’s sister, Ruth Ortega, who was also subpoenaed, is an employee of the Town of Cicero.

After Rivera’s arrest and unsuccessful attempt at delivering the subpoena, Dominick’s attorneys argued in court that the town president had nothing to do with the Gonzalez v. Madigan lawsuit and did not need to be deposed. They also claimed that the attorney who represents Gonzales, Tony Peraica has a long-time political grudge against Dominick. In 2010 when Peraica was running for Cook County Commissioner, Dominick endorsed his opponent.

Dominick was eventually ordered by Judge Mathew F. Kennelly to be deposed.

Paracia is also representing Rivera in his lawsuit against the Town of Cicero. The Town’s attorneys have until September 11, 2019 to respond to Rivera’s allegations.

The Town of Cicero is also currently involved in two other federal lawsuits, the most recent being a class-action case by a group of women claiming their privacy rights were violated while held in the Cicero police lock-up facility, and another case involving a female Cicero auxiliary police officer who alleges she was sexually harassed by several male colleagues and supervisors.