Cicero in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Site of Cicero Town Hall
1903 - 2008
— 150 Year Anniversary 1857 - 2007 —
Photographed By Sean Flynn
1. Site of Cicero Town Hall Marker
The Town Hall of the Town of Cicero stood here more than a century following the separation of Berwyn and Oak Park from Cicero in 1902. The original building was greatly expanded in the late 1930's. A further addition to it was made in the 1970's.
A large wing was built in the early 1990's. The Town Hall contained the offices of the elected officials and most administrative facilities except for Public Works and the Cicero Fire Department which were located at separate buildings. The Cicero Police station was part of the Town Hall complex. The Courtroom served as the meeting chambers for the Town Board.
Government operations were transferred to their present site to the new Municipal Complex in 2008 and the historic Cicero Town Hall was closed.
Erected 2009 by Town of Cicero, Larry Dominick President.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Government & Politics • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.
Location. 41° 50.703′ N, 87° 44.926′ W. Marker is in Cicero, Illinois, in Cook County. Marker is on South 50th Avenue just north of 25th Place, on the right when traveling north. The marker stands in the southwest corner of what used to be
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Cicero Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Parish (approx. half a mile away); Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Manuel Pérez, Jr. Memorial Plaza (approx. 0.8 miles away); T.G. Masaryk Czech School (approx. one mile away); a different marker also named T.G. Masaryk Czech School (approx. one mile away); Lithuanian Independence (approx. 1.1 miles away); Rudy Lozano (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cicero.
More about this marker. The marker was erected after the Town of Cicero departed this building in 2008 for its new municipal building, about ½-mile due north of here at 4949 W. Cermak Ave. (22nd St.). A short walk northeast of this marker sits what's left of Cicero's World War I monument, greatly decayed and decrepit (minus its plaques and the eagle that once adorned the top), yet still hard to miss, painted a stunning white.
The old town hall goes mostly unused, although it did have something of a second life—as the site of an annual Halloween haunted house known as the Cicero Town Hall
Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15, 2023
2. Site of Cicero Town Hall Marker
The now-empty town hall and a decaying old memorial to World War I veterans are in the background.
Regarding Site of Cicero Town Hall. The top of this historical marker includes the seal of Cicero, Illinois, which includes the date of the town's founding: February 26, 1867. The 5.5-square-mile town was formed within the Township of Cicero, whose original 36-mile borders, formed in 1857, included areas that eventually were either annexed or broke off from Cicero and today form parts of Chicago, Oak Park, Berwyn and Stickney.
Cicero is the only municipality in Cook County to operate a town form of government, and one of only 11 towns in the state of Illinois as of 2023, according to the Illinois State Comptroller.
Additional commentary.
1. Al Capone and the old Cicero Town Hall
After reformist William Dever was elected as Chicago's crime-fighting mayor in 1923, mobster Al Capone relocated operations to Cicero, an adjacent suburb west of Chicago, as a way to avoid any potential increase in pressure from Chicago law enforcement.
As Capone sought to secure Cicero as a safe home for the mob, the 1924 election for Cicero's town president became a proxy. When Cicero's Mayor
Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15, 2023
3. Old Cicero Town Hall
The old town hall's entrance on 25th Place.
According to the Chicago Tribune, on Election Day that April, Capone-led gunmen in automobiles "sped up and down the streets, slugging and kidnapping election workers. A Cicero policeman was disarmed, beaten and sent to the hospital." As many as 20 men were kidnapped, carted off to the basement of a plumbing shop in the city, and chained to pipes and posts. Meanwhile voters were threatened at polling places. Klenha won handily and served two four-year terms as Cicero's mayor.
In 1924, Cicero Town Hall was the site of one of the clearest signs of Capone's power in Cicero—and Klenha's lack thereof. According to the story, which may or may not be legend, Capone lost his temper at Klenha, who may have been attempting to exert his power in a way that Capone disagreed with. Capone publicly slapped Klenha down the steps of the town hall.
Capone was convicted in 1931 of tax evasion, which led to his demise and also foretold the end of Klenha's time as mayor. He was handily defeated in 1932 by a Democratic government elected by Cicero residents ready for a new beginning after nearly a decade of mob rule.
— Submitted December 15, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 
Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15, 2023
4. Cicero's current municipal building
At the corner of 49th Avenue and Cermak Road (22nd Street) about a half-mile due north of the old town hall, Cicero's new municipal building was erected in 2008.
Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1928
5. Joseph Klenha, Cicero's mayor in the 1920s
Joseph Klenha was mayor of Cicero during the Al Capone era and sought his help to secure his election. According to legend, which may or may not be true, Capone is purported to have lost his temper at Klenha and slapped him down the steps of the town hall.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 15, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 116 times since then and 86 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 15, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5. submitted on April 10, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
