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An Italian American organization is suing the Chicago Park District to restore the Christopher Columbus statue removed from Little Italy after protests last year. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) want city officials to reinstall the statue at Arrigo Park, which dated back to 1966 before it was taken down. The Columbus statues...

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The Columbus Day Queen Contest has a new lease on life thanks to the Avanti Group. Sponsored for decades by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, the pageant was put on hold last year due to the pandemic. “We thought it was important to keep the tradition going, and the JCCIA was grateful for the assist,” says Pasquale Gianni, president o...

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The Avanti Group has stepped up to the plate, taking charge of the Columbus Day Queen Contest after a year hiatus for the venerable event. Sponsored for decades by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, the pageant was put on hold last year due to the pandemic. “We thought it was important to keep the tradition going, and the JCCIA was gra...

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July 25, 2021 / 3:00 PM. Join Italian Americans in Chicago at Arrigo Park as we take a stand against the City of Chicago's discriminatory removal of our Columbus statues and revisionist history. Pack the Park with Windy City Italians! REGISTER HERE Hosted by Chicago's Italian American community, Pack the Park is an all-encompassing, inclusive event...

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Dozens of veterans and their families gathered on Sunday in Chicago's Little Village for a ceremony coordinated by the Italian American community. "We celebrate and remember under one flag, and remember our African American, Jewish American, Latin American, Asian American, European American and all other heroes, and their bravery, dedication and co...

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A Salute to Italian American Veterans on the 75th Anniversary of the Veterans Monument at Arrigo Park (Chicago, IL) will take place Sunday, May 30, 2021. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) along with the Italian American Veterans Museum, and the Italian American War Veterans, will honor four World War II Veterans as part of the...

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Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore said Monday that before a vote can be taken on whether the county should change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, major tribes in the U.S. should “acknowledge their role in the rich history of Black slaves.” Moore, who said he is a direct descendant of a Choctaw Freedman, said tribes have unfairly denie...

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The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans will host a special tribute in honor of Italian-American veterans over the Memorial Day weekend. The event will be co-sponsored by the Italian American War Veterans and the Italian American Veterans Museum. An 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, May 30, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii will be followed by a so...

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On March 14, 1891, 11 Sicilian immigrants who had been falsely accused of murdering the police chief of New Orleans were shot and hung by a mob of thousands in the largest mass lynching in American history. The 130th anniversary of that dark day was marked in Chicago with a moving commemoration in Arrigo Park hosted by the Joint Civic Committee of...

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The Chicago Park District says it had the authority to remove a Columbus statue from a Near West Side park, despite an Italian American organization’s argument that a decades-old agreement proves it should have been consulted first. Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons’ statement that “the District maintains it was within its rights to temporar...

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