Fra Noi

Fra Noi produces a magazine and website that serve the Chicago-area Italian-American community. Our magazine offers our readers a monthly feast of news and views, culture and entertainment that keeps our diverse and widely scattered readers in touch with each other and their heritage. Our website offers a dizzying array of information drawn from every corner of the local community.

Santa Fara Society shares sign with hometown

Last year, Società Santa Fara di Cinisi successfully lobbied the city of Chicago to name the stretch of road outside of their clubhouse on Addison Street Honorary Via Santa Fara di Cinisi. The society was presented with an extra sign at the time, which it shipped to the mayor of Cinisi, Sicily, to display outside their town hall. The sign was installed in Sicily on July 10 during the Feast of Santa Fara. “This was done to keep the lines of communication open between the town of our birth and the Cinisensi of Chicago,” says society President Carlo Vaniglia. “It …

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Muti to end illustrious CSO run this season

Riccardo Muti marks his 13th and final season as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director in 2022-23. Once his tenure is complete, he and the orchestra will have performed more than 500 concerts together at Symphony Center, across the U.S. and around the world. Muti will lead nine programs in 2022/23, including Mussorgsky’s “Pictures From an Exhibition” from Oct. 6-8 and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” from May 25-27, 2023. (cso.org) A live recording of Muti directing the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” will soon be available. To learn more, click here.  

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Antonio Romanucci earns prestigious legal award

Chicago attorney Antonio Romanucci received the Howard Twiggs Award from the American Association of Justice at the organization’s annual conference in Seattle on July 18. The award is given to an AAJ member whose “passion, civility, cordiality and professionalism reflect the high standards set by Attorney Howard Twiggs; and whose courtroom advocacy and distinguished service to AAJ have brought honor to the trial bar and the legal profession.” A founding partner at Romanucci & Blandin, Romanucci has served in a wide variety of posts at the AAJ over the years.

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Giudice named Special Libraries Association fellow

Chicago law librarian Eugene Giudice has been named a fellow of the Special Libraries Association. The designation reflects the work Giudice has done and will continue to do on behalf of the profession and the SLA. SLA fellows are expected to act as mentors to those entering the profession and offer their knowledge and wisdom in the governance of the SLA. The senior research services training specialist at the Chicago office of Dentons US LLP, Giudice is chair of the SLA Legal Community, has chaired the Workplace Emergency Preparedness Council, and has been a member of several task forces and …

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Labor council honors union leader Perinar

Third-generation union leader Gary Perinar washonored as Man of the Year when the Italian American Labor Council assembles for its 2022 dinner dance on Oct. 22 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The following profile was provided by the organization. Perinar is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, which represents 52,000 members across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Iowa. He has led the union since 2018 when he was elected Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, which later merged with the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council to form the Mid-America Regional Council. Gary …

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ARC pays visit to Wisconsin shrines

Members of the Associazione Regionale Campania will head west this spring, visiting President Grant’s home and the Blaum Distillery in Galena, Illinois, and the Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. Erected on the grounds of the Holy Ghost Parish in Dickeyville, the expansive display of religious and patriotic art was created by Fr. Matthias Wernerus, pastor of the parish from 1918-31. The grotto contains several shrines, including ones dedicated to the Blessed Mother, the Holy Eucharist and Christ the King.  

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Addison enshrines Liberio memorabilia

The main conference room of Addison’s village hall has long been graced by a display celebrating the village’s sister city relationship with Triggiano, Italy. That exhibit has been enhanced thanks to a generous donation of images and documents by Angela Liberio. Angela’s late husband, Vincenzo, helped forge the relationship, which was launched in 1993. Since then, regular student exchanges have been sponsored between high schools in the two municipalities. Angela (left) bestowed the memorabilia upon Addison Clerk Lucille Zucchero (right).  

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Aurora pantry honors food recycler Izzo

Joseph Izzo was the driving force behind RationAll Food Rescue, which salvaged food from grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses, and delivered it to food pantries and shelters. When Izzo succumbed to cancer earlier this year, the board voted to dissolve the nonprofit, making a sizeable donation to the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora. The pantry used the funds to buy a food waste composter, naming it “The Izzo” in his honor.  

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South suburbs honor Rep. DeLuca

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca was recognized as a Champion of the Southland at the South Suburban Mayors and Managers’ annual gala. A longtime advocate for increased state support for local government, DeLuca spearheaded the Southland Reactivation Act, which was recently signed into law. The act creates a special designation for underutilized property in the south suburban communities located in Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Rich, Thornton and Worth townships. Qualified properties will have their previous assessed valuations significantly reduced, encouraging development and returning the properties to the tax rolls.  

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World Market dramatically expands its Italian offerings

World Market will feature retail items from across Italy, including a host of gourmet Italian food products, as part of a dramatic expansion facilitated by the Italian government. The chain of specialty/import retail stores launched its Italian Shop with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 18 at World Market Lincoln Park, 1623 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. The ceremony was followed by an open house until 7 p.m. that includes a coffee-and-cookie sampling from 10 a.m. to noon and food tasting event and raffle drawing from 4 to 7 p.m. (312-587-8037) The expansion and open house were made possible with the assistance …

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