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Town Newscontinued from page 1Seniors have ‘got it good’ in Ciceromunicipalities provide extra services for them. But in Cicero,courting seniors is on a whole other level.Cicero seniors, most people say, have had it good at least asfar back as the Betty Loren-Maltese administration, whichbegan in 1993. The former town president started a seniorhousing program and a senior services department. Loren-Maltese, who is serving an 8-year prison sentence for stealingmillions from the town, is still popular with seniors.The Cicero Senior Center gets rave reviews from seniorswho take part in exercise classes, cooking classes and otheractivities. Located in a ground-level brick building on West35th Street, the center has four buses and three mini-vansthat provide free transportation for seniors seven days aweek.Stepping away reluctantly from her bunco game at thecenter recently, lifelong resident Helen Antczak, 89, saidprograms like these keep residents content with staying intown. “I could never leave this place,” she said. “You couldnever find a better place to live, especially if you are a senior.”Cicero, a town of about 82,000 that was once home formany Eastern Europeans but now has a majority Hispanicpopulation, offers people 62 and older free lunches, daylongjaunts to casinos and other entertainment venues, free grasscutting, snow shoveling and even home repairs.While Loren-Maltese gets credit for spearheading theprograms, others said they’ve flourished since LarryDominick became town president in 2005.“They spent all their lives paying taxes and they deserve this,”Dominick said. “Many seniors are on a fixed income. Somemight have a lot of money, but we treat them all the same.Let them keep their money for something else.”Dominick, who’s up for re-election next year, concedes thatsenior citizens in Cicero are avid voters who come out indroves on Election Day.“Voting is one thing they cherish in life, like bingo and the[casinos]. The senior program is separate from politics,” hesaid.Cicero resident Alma Marble, 72, said she believes Dominickand other elected officials.“They don’t come to the senior center and tell us who to votefor,” Marble said. “One lady who comes to the senior centerhasn’t voted in 60 years. Never have they talked to us aboutvoting.”For services, seniors simply call the Senior ServicesDepartment, which has 14 full-time staffers and a budget of$1.6 million (out of a total town budget of $225.8 million).For seniors, the town last year spent $240,000 for lawn care,$190,000 for snow removal and $120,000 for a program thatprovides free home improvements and repairs, according totown records.And now Cicero will soon have a new department to assistseniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and to protectseniors from abuse or other crimes. The new program, calledthe Department of the President’s Ambassadors for SeniorCitizens, was approved by trustees in January and will havetwo full-time employees.Berwyn officials said seniors in their city are jealous of theirneighbors to the east.“They want us to provide the same services as Cicero,” saidJeanmarie Hajer, Berwyn’s community outreach director. “Iwish we could, but we don’t have that kind of money. Theygenerate more taxes than us.”The total budget for seniors in Berwyn -- a city of about54,000 -- is $150,000 per year, a fraction of the amount Cicerospends.Hajer said that Berwyn provides free grass-cutting and snowremovalservices for low-income seniors, but that the city canset aside only about $8,000 yearly.The Oak Park Township Senior Services Department, whichserves neighboring Oak Park and River Forest, has a budgetof $1.5 million that’s used mostly for seniors who are lowincomeor have a hardship. In those cases, the departmentoffers meal programs, chore services, transportation todoctors and grocery stores and occasional excursions, saiddirector Desiree Scully.Oak Park is testing a snow shoveling program for peoplewho need physical help or are low-income.Dominick said some senior residents who’ve moved out ofCicero have come to regret it. “They don’t get these serviceswhere they live,” he said.He said he would like people to think of Cicero as somethingmore than a town known for its mob influences and hardnosedpolitics.“I want Cicero to be known as a town that cares aboutpeople, not [Al] Capone,” he said. “The town has put up with alot of baloney in the past.”4
Cicero Police Makes Arrests in Christmas SeniorHome Invasion CaseOn January 3rd, Cicero police charged 21-year-old Sherie Barnes (Naperville) and 20-year-old Kenisha Jennings(Chicago) with a number of felonies in connection with their alleged home invasion and robbery of an 86-year oldCicero senior citizen on December 22, 2007.Barnes and Jennings allegedly forced their way into the victim’s home at which point they pepper-sprayed her andstole approximately $400 in cash from the victim’s purse before fleeing the scene. The victim was taken to MacNealHospital in Berwyn, treated and released that day.Barnes and Jennings are each charged with the following felonies: one count of Home Invasion; one count ofResidential Burglary; and two counts of Aggravated Battery to a Senior Citizen.Barnes had previously cleaned the victim’s home while working for a cleaning agency that had been referred to thevictim by the Berwyn/Cicero Council on Aging.“Cicero police detectives did a great job identifying the persons believed to be responsible for these vicious criminalacts against a Cicero senior,” said Town President Larry Dominick. “It is terrible thing to see young people prey onour seniors, and around the holidays no less. If proven responsible, I hope those young women receive punishmentscommensurate with the depravity of their crimes.”Barnes and Jennings turned themselves in to Cicero police.Town NewsCicero Police Break Up Unruly Street Gang PartyOn Friday, January 8, Cicero police arrested 48 persons after responding to a call of a loud, unruly party at5729 W. 23rd Street.After gathering the facts, Cicero police and gang tactical officers later determined that the party was formembers of a known street gang with a presence in Cicero.Those arrested were charged with crimes ranging from underage drinking, curfew violations, and criminaltrespass.“Combating street gangs is a daily battle in town,” said Town President Larry Dominick. “But, as highlightedby the significant number of arrests in this instance, our police are on the job, there to be responsive toresidents who step up and let us know what’s going in their neighborhood, and serious about comingdown hard on gang-bangers in town.”Dominick went on to recognize Sgt. Dave Ciancio and the Cicero Gang Crimes Tactical Unit for theirexcellent work on this case at the town board meeting on Tuesday, January 23.5
Page 1 and 2: The Cicero Town NewsVol. 7 No. 3 Pu
Page 3: From the President’s Deskby Cicer
Page 7 and 8: Town NewsTHE ANNUAL‘HEARTS AND SH
Page 9 and 10: The Three Kings Visit CiceroTown Ne
Page 11 and 12: Town NewsNew on-line GED preparatio
Page 13 and 14: Town NewsHighlights from the Jan. 8
Page 15 and 16: Joan “Joanie” MackowiakBuilding
Page 17 and 18: Community Announcements & Services1
Page 19 and 20: Community Announcements & ServicesC
Page 25 and 26: Community Announcements & ServicesC
Page 27 and 28: Community Announcements & ServicesP
Page 31 and 32: AdvertisementsCermak Road & Austin
Page 33 and 34: AdvertisementsLet the next sign in
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