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Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she “fully expects” the statue of Christopher Columbus to be returned to its pedestal in Grant Park, but not before a security plan is in place to prevent a repeat of the 2020 debacle that left dozens of ambushed police officers injured.  “I’m not gonna do anything that puts our officers in harm’s way. I will probab...

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Ciao from Rome!   Dear friends, I would like to inform you that the audio version of We the ItaliaNews, the podcast born two years ago and which is now a real news broadcast followed on various platforms and social media by more than 1000 followers for each episode, is also on Spotify. Every Monday and Thursday there is a new episode, which tells y...

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A civic leader is demanding that Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologize for the obscene and derogatory remarks a lawsuit alleges she made about Italian Americans during a phone call to discuss the statue of Christopher Columbus removed from Arrigo Park. That statue was taken away on Lightfoot’s orders in 2020 after it became the target of protests and vand...

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The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans marked the 700th anniversary of the passing of Dante Alighieri with a standout media luncheon on Sept. 14. Galleria Marchetti in Chicago was bursting at the seams with journalists, elected officials and community leaders who had come to honor CBS President and General Manager Jennifer Lyons and Chicago...

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ABC7, Chicago's most-watched television station, is celebrating the city's vibrant Italian American community with the broadcast of the 69th annual Columbus Day Parade. The hourlong event is hosted by ABC7 Windy City Weekend anchors Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini. They will be joined in the broadcast booth by Anthony Rago, Italian American Human Re...

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July 25 was the one-year-and-one-day anniversary of the removal of the Christopher Columbus statues by the City of Chicago. It was also the day Chicago’s Italian-American community turned out in droves to show unity and strength at the JCCIA’s “Pack the Park Italian Unity Day Rally.” “After all that has been going on with the Columbus issue and the...

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A cup of hot cocoa in front of a crackling fire in the fall. Peacefully floating on a raft on a small river in Tennessee. Sundown over the mountains of Colorado. As soothing, comforting and embracing as those things are, the voice of radio legend Dick Biondi is just as special to me. Which is ironic, because he is referred to as one of the original...

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The Italian American Baseball Foundation and National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame have formed a partnership based on their collective interests in promoting and building Italian American heritage through sports. Both organizations have agreed to a partnership founded in education and community. The immediate goal will be to host youth base...

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Onesti Entertainment, The Dick Biondi Film and Reel Stories Productions will host The Dick Biondi Big 89! Birthday Bash, a birthday celebration and fundraiser on Sunday, September 19th starting at 2pm at the Arcada Theatre in Saint Charles.  Headlining the event is 1960’s rock and roll music icon Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals. Additional performan...

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An annual festival in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood has been canceled for a second straight year, largely to avoid further stressing vendors already struggling to find workers, organizers said. The Taylor Street Little Italy Festa, which typically draws tens of thousands of people to the neighborhood in mid to late August, was canceled last y...

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