Town President Larry Dominick Tuesday announced that the Town of Cicero has won a $1.36 million federal grant to pay for the hiring of four additional police officers for three years. Dominick told the Town Board that the new hires will help the Town increase its fight to eliminate street gangs.

Dominick said that last year, the Town had one street gang related murder and this year, there has been none. “The additional police we can now hire as a result of this grant will strengthen our ability to fight street gangs,” said Dominick who was also a career Cicero police officer before being elected Town President in 2005.

The Federal Government received 2,712 applications for the grant money, Dominick said. Only three agencies were selected in Illinois. The awards went to Cicero, the University of Illinois and the City of Rockford.

The grant amount is $1,355,252 and will cover the salary and benefits for four police officers over the course of three years. In a related story, the Town announced that it has been invited to detail Cicero’s successes in fighting street gangs by the International Congress on Public Safety which convenes in Segovia and Madrid Spain Oct. 19 – 22, 2011