Town President Larry Dominick broke ground on Monday, Sept 23rd, on the town’s first 100 percent disability accessible playground, joined by officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), state, county and town leaders at 1844 S. Laramie Avenue. The new “Phil Fuentes Ability Park,” dedicated in honor of local businessman Phil Fuentes who has succeeded past his own disability, is the first playground of its kind in Cicero.  Cicero, which has a population of more than 85,000, contracted with architect Terra Engineering to build the park. It was designed with input from disability service organization United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago and the special education departments of Cicero School Districts 201 and 99, and Morton College, and from Town of Cicero leaders. “Cicero has a new future and that is what we are about, creating opportunities for everybody especially the kids and the seniors. That’s who I take care of the most. Kids and seniors have always been my goal. From day one, I have said I want to make one kids life better every day. And I guarantee you, we have done that. We have a great team here. Everyone works together. There is no ‘me’. It’s all us,” Dominick said in welcoming guests at the groundbreaking Monday morning. Attending the groundbreaking or represented by staff members were State Rep. Mike Porfirio, former State Senator Antonio Munoz, State Senator Javier Cervantes, State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, State Rep Nicole La Ha, Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar, Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon, members of the Town of Cicero Board, and representatives of local schools including Elementary School District 99, High School District 201, and Morton College. Assisting the Town of Cicero in securing funding for the Phil Fuentes Ability Park were the Roosevelt Group.

Photo Credit: Town of Cicero