Dozens of floats and thousands of people, many of them Italian Americans from around the Chicago area, descended upon the Loop on Monday for the annual Columbus Day Parade. The floats, decorated with gleaming banners, flowers and tinsel in the color of the Italian flag, represented community groups and local businesses celebrating their roots.
In between them, marching bands and dance groups pumped the crowd up with music and high-energy routines. “Bless the immigrants who came before us, and bless those who still come, seeking hope and freedom and home for their families,” said the Rev. Richard Fragomeni of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Little Italy in a prayer before the parade.
