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 Italian Americans. The event was emceed by JCCIA President Ron Onesti and attended by an impressive array of ethnic and political leaders. More than a dozen of those leaders took to the microphone to share a portion of …

Responding to continued economic losses in the south suburbs, State Rep. Anthony DeLuca has filed legislation that would reduce taxes on land bank properties in an attempt to stimulate redevelopment. “The problem facing the Southland region is that, when our manufacturing and industrial jobs left, nothing replaced them,” DeLuca says. House Bill 1842 would create a special designation in several south suburban townships for commercial- or industrial-zoned properties that have been vacant for a year or more. If developers apply for and receive the designation, the value would be capped at 50 percent of the last assessment, reducing tax rates …

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura will complete its exploration of the work of actor Luca Marinelli with a virtual screening of “Lo chiamavano Jeeg” (They Call Me Jeeg). The film follows Enzo, a misanthropic small-time crook who uses superpowers gained after falling into the Tiber River to chase down a crazy gangster called “The Gypsy.” The film will be available for viewing from 1 p.m. April 23 to 1 p.m. April 25. To register, click here.    

It’s been a long, eerily quiet year at the Mazzini-Verdi Club in Franklin Park. The once-bustling facility at 9230 W. Belmont Ave. has been shuttered since March 2020 because of the pandemic, and club leaders and members are looking forward to returning to business as usual. “The club is like a second home to us, and we deeply miss gathering there, but the safety of our members comes first,” says Mazzini-Verdi President Bernard Ghilarducci. “We’ll be reopening as soon as the state of Illinois gives us the green light, and we’ll, of course, be following all guidelines and restrictions.” Founded …

Casa Italia will be ready to hit the ground running once restrictions are lifted thanks to the generosity of the Italian-American community. The Calabresi in America Organization got the ball rolling with a $100,000 donation to fund a host of improvements. Among them are new emergency and exit lighting throughout the property, new boilers in the Community and Cultural centers, and other renovations to the Community Center. The rest of the community has rallied around the Casa by purchasing commemorative plaques for inclusion in a Hall of Honor in the Community Center. The plaques will be installed in the former …

The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii is inviting current and former parishioners to buy a paver for placement in the Shrine’s Garden of Remembrance. “If you’ve ever had a special moment in this sacred place, if you’d like to honor a loved one or commemorate a special date, please consider being a part of our Garden of Remembrance,” Shrine Rector the Rev. Richard Fragomeni says. The garden is located south of the Holy Family statue. A 4-inch-by-8-inch brick costs $250 and is customizable with up to three lines of 20 characters each. Bricks are installed after 100 are sold, …

Ron Onesti has honored the city of Chicago’s request to take down the Italian-American Pride banners that had surrounded the base of the Christopher Columbus statue in Arrigo Park since last fall. Onesti installed them without a permit after the statue was removed by the city in the wake of civil unrest this summer. “They were beautifying the site for months, and thousands of people enjoyed them, but we’re law-abiding citizens, and the city was well within its rights to request their removal,” says Onesti, who spearheaded and paid for the banners personally before his election as JCCIA president. “We’re negotiating …

The Honorary Consulate of the Republic of San Marino in Chicago in conjunction with Resurrection College Prep High School in Chicago and the Scuola Secondaria Superiore in San Marino have organized a virtual education program for select students at the two schools. The program focuses on the connection between San Marino and Illinois-born writer Ernest Hemingway, which was highlighted in the February 2021 issue of Fra Noi. According to Consul Robert Allegrini, “The virtual exchange is meant to foster the bonds of a shared history and to keep the spirit of cross-border learning alive during the pandemic.”  

Singer/songwriter Iliana Incandela was all set to marry music producer Nomad Saint when the pandemic struck, postponing the event. Turning her attention inward, Incandela decided to sort out a toxic relationship through the song “Bad Company.” “Nomad made the track, and I wrote the lyrics. Then we recorded the vocals in my closet!” she explains. Produced in English and Italian, “It’s based on an Italian proverb my mother would always say to me: ‘Meglio sola che male accompagnata’ (Better alone than in bad company).” Iliana is the daughter of local singing and dining legend Enzo Incandela. Her music is available …

When retired Circuit Court Judge Gloria Coco isn’t teaching classes at the IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law, she’s on the hunt for her next acting opportunity. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, she recently landed a role in Amazon Prime’s sci-fi thriller “Utopia.” The eight-episode series stars Chicago native John Cusack and Rainn Wilson of “The Office.” The show follows a group of internet pen pals who band together to save the world. When a pandemic strikes, the characters played by Cusack and Wilson must oversee competing vaccine proposals from Tomi Tambler, a by-the-books FDA agent played by Coco, …