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Federal observers to monitor elections in Cicero, Illinois

From CNN Producer Terry Frieden

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Twenty-five federal observers have been dispatched to the Chicago suburb of Cicero to monitor Tuesday's municipal elections, following loud complaints by the town's growing Hispanic community and a federal lawsuit last year.

"The federal observers will monitor the treatment of Hispanic voters to ensure that they have full and equal access to the voting process," said a statement issued by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in Washington.

Under a settlement between federal officials and Cook County officials last October, the Justice Department was authorized to monitor elections in Cicero for the next five years.

The agreement resolved a lawsuit by the federal government last March. The lawsuit was prompted by an effort by Cicero officials to increase the residency requirements for local office. The Justice Department claimed the plan was designed to block two Hispanic candidates from running against the incumbent town president.

Cicero was once a predominantly white Republican stronghold of 70,000, that officials now estimate has a Hispanic majority.

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