Take that, Chicago: Springfield Italian American group mounts boycott over Columbus statues
A Springfield-based Italian American group is asking its members not to travel to or spend money in Chicago "until there is a satisfactory resolution addressing the taking down" of the city’s Christopher Columbus statues. The Roman Cultural Society of Central Illinois unanimously adopted the resolution earlier this week. It also made a financial co...
Columbus protest turns into clash with counter-demonstrators
A confrontation took place Saturday afternoon between a group of Kenosha teens known as Kenosha Activism and counter-demonstrators supporting Italian heritage. The confrontation was very loud at times, but peaceful. The Kenosha Activism organizers—three local high school students from Indian Trail High School and Academy—had planned a march titled...
Columbus statue removed in South Chicago
Another statue of Christopher Columbus has been removed overnight in Chicago. The statue was in the city’s South Chicago neighborhood as part of The Drake Fountain display on a pedestrian island at 92nd and Exhange. The Chicago Sun-Times says the statue was dedicated in 1892. It is believed to be the first statue commemorating Columbus in Chicago....
Army Specialist 3 Guy Cardarelli
Guy Cardarelli and his twin sister, Judy Ann, were born in Chicago in 1935 to Guido and Marie Mele Cardarelli. They lived behind the family grocery store/meat market on 5th Street and Kedzie Avenue. Cardarelli’s father immigrated from Morrovalle, Italy, and his mother’s family from Castelvetere in Campania. His father passed away shortly before Car...
Taste of Italy, Columbus Italian Festival canceled due to COVID-19
The Columbus Italian Festival Board announced Tuesday the Taste of Italy and the Columbus Italian Festival have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Taste of Italy was set to take place on October 5 and the 41st annual Columbus Italian Festival was scheduled for October 9-11. "The safety of our neighbors, guests, volunteers, staff, participants,...
Attention turns to Chicago's last standing Columbus statue
A Christopher Columbus statue on Chicago's South Side that was left standing after two other Columbus statues were removed last week may yet be taken down, a City Council member says. Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday that she has been talking to city officials about removing the statue that stands in an intersec...
Where Next, Columbus? Fate of Temporarily Removed Statues in Question
Pedestals in two Chicago parks that once held up statues of Christopher Columbus have stood empty since last week. Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered their temporary removal following protests that turned violent. Now, activists are hoping to make their removal permanent. The mayor’s action has been condemned by some as capitulation to mob rule, but the...
Italian Americans call removal of Columbus statues in Chicago ‘insensitive’ to their history
Italian Americans came out in force in Little Italy Sunday in a show of solidarity following the removal of two Christopher Columbus statues in the city. Demonstrators said what they want moving forward is a seat at the table when it comes to figuring out what the future holds for those statues. “This is our history so much history so many memories...
Removal of the Columbus statues has left a hole in the heart of our Italian American community
Did Chicago sleep better Thursday night after the Christopher Columbus statues were taken down? One group of Chicagoans did not. In fact, one very close-knit community has been hurt — badly. The Italian American community, which, along with Chicago, had a symbol of its resilience removed. More correctly, dismantled and hauled away. Upon comin...
Statement about the removal of two Columbus statues in Chicago
We are outraged by Chicago Mayor Lightfoot’s dead of night abduction of two prominent statues of Columbus, the great explorer. In her attempt to cancel history, she has snuffed out a deeply-rooted public expression of Italian American identity, culture, and pride. Italian Americans conceived these two statues, funded them, built, and gifted them to...
Anger, confusion and some ‘cheering’ among local Italian Americans after removal of Columbus statues
A sense of deep “hurt” and confusion swept through the city’s Italian American community Friday, hours after the removal of two Christopher Columbus statues in the dark of night. “Are we happy about it? Absolutely not. As a community, we are extremely hurt,” said Sergio Giangrande, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, which...
Columbus Statues In Grant Park, Little Italy Will Be Taken Down, Officials Say
The city’s controversial Christopher Columbus statues will likely be removed soon, officials said. The statues in Grant Park and Little Italy have been the subject of high-profile protests in recent weeks — including one Friday in Grant Park where police and protesters violently clashed, leaving dozens of people injured. At that protest, people sca...