In order to realize his vision for the "New Cicero", Cicero Town President Larry Dominick wanted a town facility that promoted healthy living and dynamic learning. Welcome to the two Cicero Community Center: 40,000 square feet of modern public space dedicated to Cicero's young people.
Click below to watch a video about the "New Cicero" Community Center
In Perspective: Six Months After the Opening of the "New Cicero" Town Community Center
View a profile of the many activities, programs, and services that are now part of the daily routine at the Community Center and hear from Cicero residents of all ages who utilize the center as to their thoughts on the Center's impact on the town.
Script
Those are some of the reactions of Cicero residents to the New Cicero Community Center.
Since opening in December 2007, the center has become a hub of activity for residents of all ages.
Stopping by on a regular weekday morning, one finds:
The ladies of Cicero's Hispanic Senior Club enjoying a friendly game of Bingo while the gentlemen play Dominos;
Other senior residents in an arts & crafts class;
Grade school-aged children participating in a peer mentoring after-school program overseen by Corazon Community Services, a Cicero-based social services provider;
Cicero grammar school students playing chess in the center's courtyard as part of an innovative math and reading summer tutoring program; and
A baby yoga class that facilitates parental bonding between moms & toddlers.
The New Cicero Community Center is part of Town President Larry Dominick's vision for the New Cicero…and for telling a story about Cicero that few though could ever be told.
Dominick's story is about a Cicero that is a safe place to live and raise a family; a Cicero that works together as a community to meet the needs of its children and its seniors; a proud Cicero where residents care for one another and share with one another.
On the same ground where Western Electric once stood as the central organizing institution in Cicero for most of the 20th century, in the 21st century, in Larry Dominick's New Cicero, the New Cicero Community Center is that organizing place, that beating heart.
Town Dedicates Classroom 1 at new Community Center to the Memory and Legacy of Catalina Garcia
Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, members of the town board, and hundreds of Cicero residents joined representatives from Morton East High School and Northern Illinois University to pay tribute to the memory of Catalina Garcia, the Cicero resident and student tragically killed in the campus shooting at NIU three weeks ago.
The Garcia family was on hand for the ceremony at the town's new community center (2250 S. 49th Avenue) at which Classroom 1 in the facility was dedicated to Catalina with a plaque posted outside of the classroom. Dominick also presented a separate plaque in Spanish to the Garcia family (pictured with Jaime Garcia, brother of Catalina). The inscription on the plaques, provided by the Garcia family, read "Live, Love and Laugh", a sentiment the Garcia family feels captures their daughter's spirit.
The dedication was Dominick's idea after learning that Catalina had aspired to be a grade school teacher. The classroom is currently used for tutoring of School District 99 students and a variety of arts and crafts activities for younger children.
Dr. James Brunson, from NIU Student Affairs, and Frank Zarate, Principal at Morton East High School, were among those who spoke at the dedication ceremony. Zarate remembered Catalina as an example of a young person who "did everything right" and who "provided a positive role model for her peers."
The memorial plaque will permanently hang outside of Classroom 1.
Town Turns Out for Grand Opening of "New Cicero" Community Center
On Saturday, December 8, over 4,000 Cicero residents turned out to join Town President Larry Dominick in celebrating the opening of the "New Cicero" Community Center.
Dominick gave the honor of the official ribbon-cutting signifying the opening of the center to Town Supervisor Joe Virruso, the elder statesman of the Town Board. In addition to members of the Town Board and other locally elected officials from Cicero schools and park districts, leaders from across the Chicagoland, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, turned out to congratulate Dominick on the initial realization of his vision for the town's new municipal complex.
An emotional Dominick thanked all of the folks who believed in him and supported him with this project, even in the face of initial criticism from his political opponents.
"I am really humbled by the support I have received from so many Cicero residents and by the joy I see on the faces of all of the kids running around in our new community center today," Dominick said. "This beautiful facility is for them, their families and for our senior residents."
The grand opening celebration featured stocking giveaways, pictures with Santa, complimentary food and drinks, games for the children (in the new classrooms), and an exciting raffle which included two tickets to the Hannah Montana concert that afternoon (Cicero's Roxanna Chavez was the lucky young lady who won the Hannah Montana tickets).
The full day of activities was split into two segments, with an 11am-2pm program for children and their families and an afternoon program that followed focused on Cicero's senior community.
Among those deserving an extra special thanks for the planning and preparation for the grand opening are:
Wayne & Rose Porod, Cicero Youth Commission
Craig Pesek, Economic Development Director
Ryan Chlada, Special Events Director
Emo Cundari, Housing Director
Cicero's entire maintenance department
Cynthia Salvino, point person for the town's ongoing 150th Anniversary celebration
Sue Banks & Joe Pontarelli, Senior Services
Kathy Ordman & Maureen Carroll from the PSO Building
Additionally, recognition for the town's construction team is warranted. KR Miller, Bulley & Andrews, ZPD+A, Dekker Perich Sabatini, brought the project in on time and on budget. Representatives from these fine, professional companies were on hand for the celebration as well.
