Community News

Local governments across Illinois are thanking Rep. Anthony DeLuca for helping advance a plan aimed at keeping critical revenue and budget decisions local. The Illinois Coalition of Local Governments hailed DeLuca, chairman of the House Cities and Villages Committee, for organizing a joint legislative hearing with the House Revenue and Finance Committee on House Bill 2717. The bill calls for municipalities around Illinois to be able to work with outside professional consultants to review their tax collections and identify areas for improvement. The bill would end actions by the Illinois Department of Revenue to prevent such hirings. In other news, …

The Justinian Society of Lawyers held its 15th annual Children’s Endowment Fund dinner at Lux Bar in Chicago. More than 60 Justinians were in attendance as the 2017 CEF recipients, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Reflections Foundation, each received a sizeable grant check for $3,625. The mission of the CEF is to assist disabled or disadvantaged children in our community. Since establishing the CEF in 2002 during his term as president, Romanucci & Blandin principal and partner Antonio Romanucci and the Justinian members have raised crucial funds for a wide range of recipients, including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Bear Necessities, …

The Italian American Veterans Museum presented founder and Chairman Anthony Fornelli with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a testimonial dinner on June 8 at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont. During a career that has spanned more than six decades, Fornelli has served at various levels of government; presided over half a dozen non-profits; raised or donated millions of dollars for charity; and earned nearly a dozen local, national and international honors. The son of Gennaro, who hailed from Naples, and Madelyn, who “hailed from Calabria by way of Des Moines, Iowa,” Tony grew up on Chicago’s West …

John Idler, president and general manager of ABC7 Chicago, and Alison Pure-Slovin, Midwest director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, were honored at the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans’ annual media luncheon on May 18. Idler will be given the Dante Award, which is bestowed on a member of the media who lives up to Dante Alighieri’s call to be no timid friend to truth; Pure-Slovin will receive the Mazzei Award, which is presented to a person who shows extraordinary skills in the world of public affairs. Dante Award Recipient John Idler “As a longtime supporter of the work and …

New JCCIA President Enza Raineri was among a dozen community leaders honored at the 16th annual Leonardo da Vinci Award of Excellence Gala on May 7 at White Eagle Banquets in Niles. The event was hosted by the Order Sons of Italy in America’s Grand Lodge of Illinois and Wisconsin. Raineri received a Community Leadership Award along with Berwyn Police Chief Michael D. Cimaglia, Festa Italiana Milwaukee founder Paul F. Iannelli, OSIA Roma Lodge President Rick P. Bonanno. Also honored were firefighter and paramedic Jeffery H. Bruno (Community Service); singer Jack V. Miuccio (Entertainment); Conca d’Oro Restaurant proprietor Peter Carini, Tucci Restaurant proprietor …

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and Istituto Italiano di Cultura put Italy’s best foot forward on March 5 during Navy’s Pier’s Neighborhoods of the World celebration. What an appropriate name to promote all the diversity of Chicago. Our array of ethnic communities is presented for thousands of spectators who pass thru Navy Pier on any given Sunday from February thru April. Entertainment was presented on March 5 by the IIC and the JCCIA presents the cultural displays. For weeks prior to our day to shine, the JCCIA office was buzzing with costume fittings and other preparations. That day, …

A lynchpin of the Italian-American community desperately needs our help. Longtime community activist Emilio Scalzitti is in renal failure and his life depends on receiving a new kidney. Born and raised in the Mother Cabrini Parish, he became active in the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel soon after moving to Melrose Park in the 1980s. He ran the Knights of Columbus honor guard at the Feast of San Francesco for decades, and he currently serves as financial secretary for the San Rocco di Potenza Society. His blood type makes him a match for any donor. (773-413-7542)

Filomena Magrone will celebrate her 100th birthday this month surrounded by family and friends. She was born on May 14, 1917, in Carbonara, Bari, Puglia, to Nicola and Cecilia Muschio. In 1934, Gaetano Magrone began rounding up friends who could play musical instruments and showing up in front of her house to serenade her. They were married the next year. The couple moved to Chicago in 1966, eventually settling in Wood Dale. Gaetano was a baker by trade and Filomena was an exceptional cook, even working for a while jarring fruit and other food. They raised a family of 11 …

In life, John Mollo was a fan of donkeys, a beast of burden that played a pivotal role in the lives of his Calabrian ancestors. When he passed away in February 2017, his daughter decided to honor his memory by creating a foundation to protect the animal that her father so loved. “I’d like to establish a charitable organization that would raise money to be sent to facilities already involved in the hands-on rescue and day-to-day care of donkeys,” Stephany Mollo explains. She is seeking kindred spirits to join her in this cause. (708-946-3675)

State Rep. John D’Amico has voted to freeze lawmaker reimbursements and prevent a pay raise for politicians. “Politicians should not be receiving any sort of pay increase while middle-class families continue to struggle to get by,” D’Amico says. “With property taxes crunching the budgets of working families across the state, we should be focused on offering tax relief, not giving out perks to politicians.” D’Amico supported House Bill 643, which removes the automatic cost-of-living increase that state legislators are due in July. The measure also freezes reimbursement rates for travel, food and lodging on days lawmakers are in session in …