Categories: Chicago

Cicero gets 16th place on the list of most miserable US cities

Business Insider published a list of the 50 most miserable US cities. Cicero, an Illinois town, was placed 16th on the list. The town is located just outside Chicago. The list was made on the base of the census data gathered for 1000 US cities. The census data were compared by the Business Insider.

The estimated population of Cicero was 82000 in 2018 and moved 3.1 percent down from the 2010 US Census data. The Business Insider gave 40% weight to it in compiling the data. According to the Business Insider publication, the median income in Cicero was $44000. In Cicero, 19.8% of people lived in poverty. 22.8% of the residents did not have health insurance. A 10% weight was given to these statistics. The list revealed that the median commute time to the job was 31.3 minutes. 15% weightage was given to it.

Gary, Indiana was the most miserable city of the United States, according to the list. Mark Brown, a Sun-Times Chicago columnist, placed Cicero among the five most corrupt Chicago suburbs a week ago. Cicero is quite famous in terms of bad publicity. In 1951, a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver and his family were burnt out of their new home in Cicero. They had just moved into that home and they were the first African-American residents in that community.

Betty Loren-Maltese, a President of Cicero, remained in federal prison as she was convicted in 2002. She was involved in a $12 million life insurance scam. Cicero made strong efforts to keep African-American residents out of it. The official website of the town says that the town was named after the Roman statesman of the First Century B.C.

The website also claims that Ernest Hemingway was born in the town of Cicero in 1899. It says, “The town of Cicero has a colorful history, which forms a part of the larger stories of the country, state, and nation.” The town is now heavily Hispanic but it was not worst for African-American residents in the past.

Gabriella Remillard

Staff writer for the Chicago Morning Star

Recent Posts

FDA Approves Revolution Medicines Pancreatic Cancer Drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Revolution Medicines’ targeted cancer drug Rasonque for certain adults with metastatic pancreatic…

16 hours ago

Chicago History Museum Workers Ratify First Contract

Workers at the Chicago History Museum ratified their first union contract on August 25, 2026, with 96% of union members…

4 days ago

White Sox, Rangers Battle for Playoff Position

The Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers head into Wednesday’s series finale at Rate Field with both clubs fighting for…

5 days ago

Chicago Business Expo Returns to Malcolm X College

Chicago will hold its final Business Resource Expo of 2026 on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Malcolm X College, bringing entrepreneurs…

1 week ago

Bedard Signs $75M Deal, Backs Patrick Kane Return

Connor Bedard has secured his long-term future with the Chicago Blackhawks, signing a five-year, $75 million contract extension that will…

1 week ago

Chicago House Music Festival Returns for Four-Day Run

The Chicago House Music Festival and Conference will return Aug. 27 through 30, bringing four days of free performances, dance…

1 week ago

This website uses cookies.