Tell me about Cicero (Chicago, Berwyn: low income, section 8, neighborhoods)

[mciprio]

Thank everyone who does support cicero and its progress. I have seen only improvements and yes the town has a great location and affordable. Im an artist and designer and I love that proximity to Oak Park..the architecture of the area is a breath of fresh air its like going back in time. I plan on staying and working with the town to improve..we are an old cicero italian family and proud of the hard working italian families that helped build this town. Its an affordable town for us artsy types who are on a budget and appreciate the cultural aspects of the area. Well I thank all who stayed and go for the improvements..yes we are urban which does carry with it some resistance to problems but moving away dosent always help either..the issues which happen in urban areas are affecting towns all over now..so lets hope and work for the best. I also want to mention that cicero does a lot for seniors and the new town hall and youth complex is a great idea. I know a huge shopping complex and improved metra station are in the works..thanks to Larry Dominick and the improvements the town has made..its not far to downtown, river forest, forest park ,elmwood park or riverside and berwyn and oak park which are all nice places to visit.

[BRU67]

I think in time, Cicero will be discovered. It has all the makings of a "hipster" suburb -- interesting architecture and houses (affordable houses), colorful history, and the L runs right through it. Unlike Berwyn and Oak Park, there's a ton of land to build new things on (Hawthorne Park, all of the underutilized factory land, train yards). Hopefully artsy types will start moving in in larger numbers. It would be great for the region.

[Burr Oak]

I think that at the present time Berwyn would be a better location than Cicero for a single woman. I recommend looking for housing around the Berwyn depot area which I believe is a true up and coming location. I agree that Cicero is beginning to change for the better, but it has a long way to go to reach the level of Berwyn.

[Windy City John]

Why are people commenting on this OLD post from April?

[bungalowdweller]

I think that someone new to the forum who has moved back into Cicero was heartened by the even-handed responses by many on the thread.

[hey12]

Originally Posted by Burr Oak

I think that at the present time Berwyn would be a better location than Cicero for a single woman. I recommend looking for housing around the Berwyn depot area which I believe is a true up and coming location. I agree that Cicero is beginning to change for the better, but it has a long way to go to reach the level of Berwyn.

i lived in berwyn and please its not safe. if you think safe is walking or driving down the street and seeing a bunch of young punks standing on the road is safe then fine if i was anyone out their i would leve berwyn and go to lagrange or some placein dupage. and if you were planing to move their.DONT IF YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY DONT MOVE THEIR.
their was a killing in i believe 2002 in hte alie of 14 and east ave and the police never found the person who did it please dont live their

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by hey12

i lived in berwyn and please its not safe. if you think safe is walking or driving down the street and seeing a bunch of young punks standing on the road is safe then fine if i was anyone out their i would leve berwyn and go to lagrange or some placein dupage. and if you were planing to move their.DONT IF YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY DONT MOVE THEIR.
their was a killing in i believe 2002 in hte alie of 14 and east ave and the police never found the person who did it please dont live their

I love it when trolls dont even make an attempt to sound intelligent.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by via chicago

I love it when trolls dont even make an attempt to sound intelligent.

"hte alie of 14"?? Sounds like a French pastry shop, hehe

[BJT83]

I think their is two much negative stereotypes about Berwyn. If someone wants to live their it is plenty safe, just stay out of the alies and your going to bee safe.

[BRU67]

Well, maybe we can put in an hte alie of 14 pastry shop and spruce up our image a bit, heh. Yes, the town definitely gets a bad rap, and I think all of us know the real reason why. It has nothing to do with crime. That is, as they say, a subterfuge. No sense getting upset about it though, it is what it is. Good news is that we’re years past the white flight stage and those left are generally folks who view diversity as a positive. The ignorant panicked element that’s starting to surface in Elmwood Park left a long time ago, leaving us with a better community, IMHO. There are many young and motivated residents (Hispanic, white and black) working to improve the schools, encourage business development, proactively address crime, market the community outside Berwyn, etc. It’s a fun place to be right now, with a lot of energy and a sort of “us v. them” mentality.

Hopefully we can help reform some bigoted attitudes by our actions and results. I think in 10 years, people are going to be very surprised by Berwyn.