Hours of hard work are beginning to pay off for Morton East High School students and local artist Milton Coronado as they near completion on a community mural.

The 8- by 24-foot mural has been in the works since mid-May. The student-artists involved in the project have depicted their dreams for a better Cicero.

The project is in cooperation with the United Way Latino Initiative, an organization working to improve the lives of Latino youths in Cicero, and three other Chicago area communities.

The students were on task to finish drawing their designs onto the canvas on Friday, June 5, and painting was scheduled to begin Monday, June 8, said Coronado, a local artist who is helping the students to create the mural.

In Cicero, the Latino Initiative project is being assisted by Corazon Community Services, although executive director of Corazon, Adam Alonso, said the majority of the project has been undertaken by the students. His only role in the project is to coordinate the workers and organize the funding.

“I think this is more effective because it will be a piece permanently displayed in Cicero, and is completely created by youths,” Alonso said.

He said he hopes the mural will be completed and ready for unveiling June 19, which marks the end of Cease Fire week. Ideally, he would like the have an unveiling ceremony following the Cease Fire March scheduled for that afternoon.

Each part of the mural is symbolic, and was chosen to remind people how they can help improve the community, Coronado said. The tree in the center of the mural symbolizes life and community growth, and a woman and young child watering the tree serves to remind residents to contribute to the community to help it grow and thrive. In the branches of the tree, the student-artists will paint their own dreams of a better Cicero.

The student’s painting is unique, he said, and represent individual goals such as continuing education, ending violence and unlocking new opportunities.

The students will be working on the mural this week at Town Hall. Alonso said the goal is that working in a prominent place will increase awareness of the project and prompt community dialogue.

“We were intentional about doing it in an open space,” Alonso said.