Community News

Joseph Martucci Jr. was honored as Man of the Year by the Italian American Police Association on Nov. 7 at Alta Villa Banquets in Addison. Frank DiMaria, second vice president of the FOP Lodge 7, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the event. (708-268-1495) “As a lifelong union organizer, Joe has had a significant positive impact on the quality of life of countless law enforcement officers and other union members throughout the Midwest,” says IAPA President Phil Tenerelli. Joe was born in Chicago and grew up in the Austin District on the city’s Far West Side. The son of Joseph …

  On Sept. 2, board members and foundation trustees of the Columbian Club of Chicago presented Thomas Regan, S.J., dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and Arthur Lurigio, Ph.D., senior associate dean for faculty, College of Arts and Sciences of Loyola University Chicago, with a check to complete the club’s $50,000 pledge to support the creation of a Italian American Studies program at Loyola. The Columbian Club’s gift capped a successful $500,000 fundraising initiative to endow a professorship within Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences to research, preserve and promote the Italian American experience, history and culture.

  Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Director Riccardo Muti was honored by the Juvenile Justice Initiative on Sept. 16 at the Union League Club of Chicago for his dedication to sharing music with children in the juvenile justice system. The event celebrates JJI’s 15th year anniversary and the organization’s many accomplishments, including raising the age of juvenile court from 17 to 18, reducing the number of children automatically tried in adult court, and reducing the state juvenile prison population by half since 2007 — all while reducing juvenile offending through expanded community based alternatives. At the September 16th event, Riccardo Muti …

State Rep. John C. D’Amico met with local business and community leaders in Niles and applauded the completion of a new facility that will keep more than 900 jobs in Illinois. An aerospace and energy systems manufacturer, Woodward consolidated locations in Niles and Skokie into a new environmentally friendly campus. Pictured at the company’s ribbon-cutting ceremony (from left) are State U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D’Amico and Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo. “Woodward has exemplified what a responsible business can do to keep valuable jobs in Illinois by consolidating to a new facility in the area,” D’Amico said.  

The Italian American Labor Council honored one of its own as Man of the Year on Oct. 3 at Alta Villa Banquets in Addison. This year’s honoree was IALC President Emeritus Joseph Serpico. Serpico is a Past President of Local 1031 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the retired Union Services Vice President of the Amalgamated Bank of Chicago. Joe’s father, a member of the Railroad Workers Union for 42 years, first introduced him to organized labor. Joe was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1031, since his employment in 1965 at the Rauland Division …

  The Order Sons of Italy in America’s Grand Lodge of Illinois and Wisconsin honored the DiNovo Family of 115 Bourbon Street as Humanitarians of the Year and Army Lt. Col. Robert Ruffolo as Columbus Patriot at their 91st annual Columbus Banquet on Oct. 10 at the White Eagle Banquets in Niles.  115 Bourbon Street was established 17 years ago by Nick DiNovo, who was later joined by Nick’s brother, Vince, and their father, Anthony “Pops” DiNovo. A Merrionette Park entertainment venue with a New Orleans theme, the business is run today by the brothers. Hosting more than 100 events …

The Sicilian American Cultural Association will host a presentation by Prof. Gaetano Cipolla on Oct. 25 at Monastero’s Banquets in Chicago. (773-588–2515) America’s foremost authority on Sicilian language and culture, Cipolla will present his 2015 book “The Poetry of Giovanni Meli,” celebrating the 200th anniversary of the death of Sicily’s greatest poet. He will speak about Meli’s life and recite his greatest poems in both English and Sicilian. Dr. Cipolla is Professor Emeritus of Italian at St. John’s University where he taught for 31 years. He held the position of Chairman of the Department for six years. He taught courses …

The Cegliesi Italo-American Association presented Dr. Luciana Burdi with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual feast in honor of Maria SS di Buterrito. The event took place at Alta Villa Banquets on Oct. 18. Dr. Burdi is the deputy director of Massport’s capital program and environmental affairs department. Massport serves as the Port Authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports — Boston Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport — and public terminals in the Port of Boston. As deputy director, she oversees 84 professional staff members and is responsible for the …

  Applications are being sought for the Fulbright Fondazione Falcone-NIAF Scholarship in Criminology. Sponsored by Fondazione Giovanni e Francesca Falcone and the Fulbright Program in Italy in cooperation with the National Italian American Foundation, the scholarship will be awarded to a U.S. graduate student to study and conduct research in criminology and the rule of law at the Fondazione in Palermo, Italy. Students at the Bachelors, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy and Juris Doctor levels, with special interest in criminology and related disciplines, including economics, sociology, education and anthropology, are invited to submit applications. Preference will be given to …

  The Order Sons of Italy in America Lodge 2700 presented its 2015 Joseph Caldarone Memorial Scholarship to (from left) Marissa Politano of Tinley Park, who plans to major in medical lab science with a minor in music at Illinois State University; Victoria Schwieger of Chicago, who plans to major in engineering at Purdue University; Skylar Blasz of Chicago, who plans to major in special education at Illinois State University; and Gabriella Adamo of Frankfort, who plans to major in physical therapy at Purdue University.