The Town Of Cicero, Illinois
ChicagoRelo.com is your source for information on Cicero. If your moving to Cicero or just visiting, you will find all kinds of information on real estate, schools, areas, parks, churches, crime, things to do, places to visit, local businesses, dining, and much more!In Cicero’s early days, immigrants arrived hoping to make a better life for themselves. Just west of Chicago, the town continues to grow with new arrivals prepared to work hard and enjoy life. More than 71,000 people live in Cicero, the 20th largest community in the state. These people take advantage of Chicago’s amenities while enjoying suburban comforts at the same time. Surrounding this western suburb are major expressways and other main roads, which make driving near and far a simple task. Plenty of public transportation is also available.
One of the benefits of Cicero’s diverse population is its variety of dining pleasures. Just like the Eastern European cuisine introduced by early immigrants, the newer immigrants are serving up scrumptious fare derived from their homelands, primarily Mexico and Asia. The growing town continues to meet new challenges with quality education, an abundance of recreational opportunities, well-maintained roads, and numerous business incentives, while still retaining much of its grass roots qualities.
The Town of Cicero is the only incorporated town in Cook County, and one of the oldest and largest municipalities in the state. It bears the name of the great Roman statesman of the First Century B.C., Marcus Tullius Cicero. Among the townships created by the County Board in 1849 was a 36 square mile tract bounded by what are today Western, North and Harlem Avenues, and Pershing Road. On June 23, 1857, 14 electors met to organize a local government for the district, which they named “The Town of Cicero.” Railroads, immigration, and the Civil War contributed to economic growth in the new township, which by 1867 numbered 3,000 residents. In that year, the state legislature incorporated the Town of Cicero as a municipality with a special charter, which was revised in 1869. Township and municipal functions have subsequently been discharged by a single board of elected officials.
Cicero’s rapid development in these early days collided with the expanding political power of its neighbor, the City of Chicago. By 1889, Chicago had annexed more than half of the original town. An 1899 referendum ceded the Austin neighborhood to the city and in the following year land containing a racetrack was transferred to Stickney Township. On July 21, 1899, Ernest Hemingway, winner of both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, was born within the Town of Cicero, in what is today the Village of Oak Park. In 1901, the three remaining components of the Town-today’s Oak Park, Berwyn and Cicero voted to separate. The surviving Town of Cicero retained less than six of the 36 square miles carved out in 1849. Immigrants and their families swelled the town’s population, however, and housing construction boomed within its diminished territory.
Served by a network of railroads, Cicero attracted many industries in the twentieth century and became the largest manufacturing center in the state after Chicago. The Cicero Flying Field established in 1911 was one of the first airfields in the Midwest.
Cicero is composed of eight neighborhoods, each with its own distinct characteristics and names: Boulevard Manor, Clyde, Drexel, Grant Works, Hawthorne, Morton Park, Parkholme and Warren Park. Three U.S. Presidents – Eisenhower, Reagan, and Bush Sr. – visited Cicero on their roads to the White House. The Town of Cicero has a colorful history, which forms a part of the larger stories of the county, state and nation.
Schools:
| School | Address | Phone | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abe Lincoln Elementary School | 3545 S 61st Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-8889 | College |
| Cicero Elementary School | 2324 S 49th Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-9440 | Elementary Schools |
| Columbus E Elementary School | 3100 S 54th Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-6085 | Elementary Schools |
| Daniel Burnham Elementary Schl | 1630 S 59th Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-9577 | Elementary Schools |
| Drexel Elementary School | 5407 W 36th St, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-5532 | Elementary Schools |
| Drexel Elementary School | 5407 W 36th St, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-5532 | Elementary Schools |
| Goodwin Elementary School | 2625 S Austin Blvd, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-5500 | Elementary Schools |
| Liberty Elementary School | 4946 W 13th St, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-780-4475 | Elementary Schools |
| Mc Kinley Elementary School | 1400 S 59th Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-8890 | Elementary Schools |
| Rachel Carson School | 2550 S 56th Ct, Cicero, IL 60804 | 773-535-9645 | Elementary Schools |
| Roosevelt Elementary School | 1515 S 50th Ct, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-7833 | Elementary Schools |
| Sherlock Elementary School | 5348 23rd, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-8885 | Elementary Schools |
| Warren Park School | 1225 S 60th Ct, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-863-2220 | Elementary Schools |
| Wilson Elementary School | 2310 S 57th Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-2552 | Elementary Schools |
| Woodbine Elementary School | 3003 S 50th Ct, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-652-8884 | Elementary Schools |
| Morton East High School | 2423 S Austin Blvd, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-222-5700 | High Schools |
| Morton West High School | 2400 Home Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 | 708-222-5700 | High Schools |