Cicero

Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268 making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Cicero is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and orator. Al Capone built his criminal empire in Chicago before moving to Cicero to escape the reach of Chicago police. Cicero had a sundown town policy prohibiting African Americans from living in the city in the mid-1960s. In 2002, Republican Town President Betty Loren-Maltese was sent to federal prison in California, for misappropriating $12 million in funds. Once considered mainly a Czech or Bohemian town, most of the European-style restaurants and shops on 22nd Street (now Cermak Road) have been replaced by Spanish-titled businesses. In the 1980s and 1990s saw a heavy influx of Hispanic (mostly Mexican and Central American) residents to Cicer. The original Cicero High School was built in 1894, but was destroyed by fire in 1924. The current building was constructed at 2423 S23 Morton Blvd, located inside the auditorium of Morton East High School, now known as East Morton High School. It was built to replace the Auditorium Auditorium, which was destroyed in 1924, and replaced with a new auditorium in 1927. It is located on a roughly square plot of land about 800 meters (1/2-mile) per side, on then-open ground at 41°5119.03N 87°4456.5W.

History

Cicero is the primary city name, but also Chicago are acceptable city names or spellings. Cicero Flying Field was the town's first aircraft facility of any type. Al Capone built his criminal empire in Chicago before moving to Cicero to escape the reach of Chicago police. The 1924 Cicero municipal elections were particularly violent due to gang-related efforts to secure a favorable election result. In 1951, a white mob of around 4,000 attacked and burned an apartment building that housed the African-American family of Harvey Clark Jr., a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver. Cicero had a sundown town policy prohibiting African Americans from living in the city. In 2002, Republican Town President Betty Loren-Maltese was sent to federal prison in California, for misappropriating $12 million in funds. In the 1980s and 1990s saw a heavy influx of Hispanic (mostly Mexican and Central American) residents. In addition, Cicero has a small black community. The city has seen a revival in its commercial sector, with many new mini-malls and large retail stores. New condominiums are also being built in the town. The town has long had a reputation of government scandal. It was once considered mainly a Czech or Bohemian town, most of the European-style restaurants and shops on 22nd Street (now Cermak Road) have been replaced by Spanish-titled businesses. It is located at 41°5119.03N 456.5W.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Cicero has a total area of 5.87 square miles (15.20 km²), all land. Cicero formerly ran from Harlem Avenue to Western Avenue and Pershing Road to North Avenue; however, much of this area was annexed by Chicago. St. Mary of Czestochowa is a Neo-Gothic church built in the Polish Cathedral style along with the sculpture of Christ the King by famed sculptor Professor Czesaw Dwigaj. The church's other claim to fame is as the site of Al Capone's sister Mafalda's wedding in 1930. Chodl Auditorium, located inside Morton East High School, was built in 1924 (completed 1927) to replace the 1,200-seat auditorium which was destroyed by fire. Hawthorne Race Course, located in Cicero and Stickney, is a horse racing track still in operation. Just north of it was Chicago Motor Speedway at Sportsman's Park (for horse racing) for many years. This facility is now closed, acquired by the Town of Cicero, and has since been demolished. Facilities of the Wirtz Beverage Group have been built on the west half and a Walmart built onThe east half of the former Hawthorne Works Tower is still located behind the Hawthorne works Shopping Center near the corner of Cermak Road (22nd Street) and Cicero Avenue. It is listed with the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 85,268 people, 22,698 households, and 17,508 families residing in the town. There were 25,836 housing units at an average density of 4,405.12 per square mile (1,700.83/km²) The town's age distribution consisted of 28.0% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2%. from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median income was $53,726, and the median income for a family was $56,632. As of 1999, about a quarter of the city contained one of the greatest industrial concentrations in the world. There are more than 150 factories in 1.7 mi (2.8 km), producing communications and electronic equipment, sugar, printing presses, steel castings, tool and die makers' supplies, forging and rubber goods. The average age of home properties was greater than 66 years. The town is a factory town, with more than 100 factories in the area. It is located on the New Mexico Turnpike, which runs from New Mexico to New Mexico. The turnpike runs through the town of Cicero, which was founded in 1881. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War and the Battle of the Bulge, which took place between 1875 and 1877.

Government

The United States Postal Service operates the Cicero Post Office at 2440 South Laramie Avenue. Most of Cicero is in Illinois's 4th congressional district; the area south of the railroad at approximately 33rd Street is in the 3rd district. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a training facility in Cicero. The town is home to the U.N. Peace Corps, which is based in the town. The city is also home to Cicero High School, which was founded in the early 1900s. It is located on the banks of the Illinois River, which runs through the center of the city. It was founded by the Illinois State Normal School District in the mid-19th century. The Cicero School District was established in the late 20th century and was the first in the state to be fully integrated into the state system. The school district is now part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has a campus on the campus of the College of Arts and Sciences. It also has a high school, which opened in the 1950s. The high school has a junior high, high school and a middle school, all of which are located in the city's downtown area. The post office is located in a building that was originally built in the 1930s as part of a housing development. It has since been converted to a post office. The area is in an area known as the "Cicero Historic District" It is also known as "Ciciero".

Education

Cicero is served by Cicero Elementary School District 99 and comprises 16 schools, making it one of the largest public school districts outside of Chicago. Elementary students attend the following schools, depending on residency: Burnham (K-6), Cicero East (4-6) and Cicero West (PK-4) Unity Junior High (7-8) is the second largest middle school in the country. High school students entering their freshman year attend the Freshman Center and then continue high school at Morton East of the J. Sterling Morton High School District 201. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago operates two PK-8 schools in Cicero: Our Lady of Charity School and St. Frances of Rome School. From 1927 until 1972, Cicero was the home of Timothy Christian School. Cicero is also home to Morton College, which was founded in the early 20th century and is located in the same building as Cicero High School. The town is home to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, the Chicago Bulls football team, and the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 2008, beating the San Francisco 49ers in the final game of the season. The Blackhawks also won the Super Bowl in 2010, their first appearance in the title game since 1998. The Cubs won their first Super Bowl title in the opening game against the New York Yankees in the second game of that year's title series. The game ended in a 0-0 tie with the Giants.

Infrastructure

Cicero is served by two major railroad lines, the BNSF Railway and the Belt Line Railroad. Multiple Pace and CTA bus routes cover portions of Cicero. The Cicero Fire Department (CFD) has 68 professional firefighters and 24 paramedics. The CFD operates out of three fire stations. Cicero is home to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, the Chicago Bulls football team, and the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2008 and 2009. The Cubs won their first World Series title since 1988 in 2008. The Blackhawks won their second title in 2010. The Bulls won their third title in 2011 and their fourth in 2012. The Bears won their fifth title in 2012 and their sixth in 2013. The team won its sixth title in 2013 and its seventh in 2014. The last time Cicero won a city championship was in 1966. The city won its first city championship in 1968. It won its second city title in 1970. The town's last city title was in 1974. The village was the site of the Chicago World Series, which was won by the Chicago Red Sox. It was the first city to win a World Series championship in the history of the series. It also won its fourth title in the 1980s and 1990s. It is the only city in the Chicago area to have won a World Cup gold medal. The U.S. Open Championship was held in Cicero in 1988. The World Series was held from 1988 to 1991.

In popular culture

Cicero is mentioned as the hometown of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman and his brother Chuck McGill in Better Call Saul. In the musical Chicago Velma Kelly mentions Cicero in the number "Cell Block Tango" as the location of the hotel where she murdered her husband Charlie and sister Veronica. In Guys and Dolls, the Chicago-area gangster "Big Julie" claims to be from "East Cicero, Illinois" (and pronounces the final "s" on Illinois). In the 1948 film noir Sorry, Wrong Number, the story takes place in New York City but in flash-backs recounted by several characters we learn that the story actually begins in Chicago and Cicero. In Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Cicero is annexed by Chicago, as a satirical allegory for the Nazi annexation of Austria. In Guns Under the Counter, on The Fiery Furnaces' album Rehearsing My Choir, Cicer is mentioned in the line "In Cicero, Never stand at a window". In the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, Cicera is the home of Al Capone, and many of the episode plots are based in the town. The town is also featured in the film version of The Godfather: Part II, starring Tom Hanks and Amy Adams, and in the TV series The Sopranos, starring John Cusack and Jennifer Aniston. The city is also mentioned in a song on the soundtrack to the film The Godmother.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois = 6.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 31. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Cicero = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 85,268 individuals with a median age of 28.5 age the population dropped by -6.64% in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 14,538.45 residents per square mile of area (5,613.28/km²). There are average 3.79 people per household in the 21,045 households with an average household income of $43,796 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.60% of the available work force and has dropped -4.37% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.46%. The number of physicians in Cicero per 100,000 population = 255.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Cicero = 36 inches and the annual snowfall = 39.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 121. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 189. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 50.04%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 62 years with median home cost = $77,220 and home appreciation of -8.93%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.10 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,795 per student. There are 16.4 students for each teacher in the school, 930 students for each Librarian and 1718 students for each Counselor. 3.58% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 3.89% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 2.18% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).