A DuPage County Board member from Elmhurst has called for the return of three statues in honor of Christopher Columbus to Chicago parks. Last year, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the statues down. She said she did so as a safety precaution. The city has held out the possibility that the statues may come back, but is awaiting a report from its monuments commission.

On his Facebook page last month, DuPage County Board member Pete DiCianni, a Republican, alerted his followers about Italian Unity Day on July 25, an event in which participants called for the return of the Columbus statues. In one post, DiCianni, who is raising money to run for DuPage County Board chairman next year, asked people to "Protect our Heritage, Religion and Culture," he said.