Local News

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and Roselle Sister Cities Italian Committee will host the Italian American Liberty Gala on June 5 at Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Village. The event will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Festa della Repubblica and the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America. The signing of a Sister City relationship between Mola di Bari, Puglia, and Roselle, Illinois, will be a highlight of the event, which will spotlight Pugliese cuisine and culture. Belvedere Banquets will be adorned with the traditional Pugliese illuminations known as luminarie. On the menu …

Casa Italia in Stone Park will host a summer camp from June 15-19 and June 22-26. Campers ages 5-12 will learn about Italian language and culture through games, songs, sports, skits, cooking, and formal and informal lessons. Directed by local language instructor Cav. Lyn Scolaro, the camp will be staffed by certified teachers recruited from local high-school language programs, as well as teaching assistants. The camp will run Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. A registration fee of $725 covers lunches, snacks and a complimentary T-shirt. Extended hours are available for an additional fee. The camp concludes with a …

  The Lucchesi nel Mondo Association will honor Lisa Gaddini Lendy and Aldo Giutini as Woman and Man of the Year on June 13 at the Mazzini-Verdi Club in Franklin Park. Lilia Leonardi Juarez will serve as master of ceremonies of the event, and Paul Ciminello will sing the national anthems. To make reservations, call Maria Banducci at 630-443-8722 or Elena Onesti at 773-908-1004. Lendy is the president of Anichini Brothers Wholesale Meats, a family business that recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Founded in 1925 by Lendy’s grandfather Silvio Anichini and his brothers, the company services some of the best …

Casa Italia and the Italian American Studies Association will present “Italian American Servicemen in World War II” at 10:30 a.m. on June 6. The Zoom presentation will analyze the Italian American servicemen’s experience and their representation in Hollywood films. Italian Americans were likely the largest ethnic group within the U.S. armed forces to fight in World War II. Their service not only significantly contributed to the Allied victory, but also played a crucial role in destigmatizing the approximately 700,000 Italian American nationals living in the United States after Mussolini declared war on the U.S. Presenter Matteo Pretelli, associate professor of …

Local home renovation titan Bill Conforti has never been one to rest on his laurels. He took his first major leap into the industry in 1988 with the launch of Siding 1, following up five years later with Windows 1. In 1995, he rallied his extensive network of architects and contractors to create new homes via Cobblestone Development. And in 2009, he began offering interior and exterior remodeling services via Cobblestone Remodeling. As his offerings grew, so did positive word-of-mouth, with 60 percent of his new projects coming from referrals from satisfied customers. Known in the industry for his skills …

Esteemed University of Chicago professor Paolo Cherchi donated a trove of books to Casa Italia in Stone Park before he passed away in April. Thanks to the donation, the shelves at the Florence Roselli Library in the Italian Cultural Center at the Casa now contain the 21-volume “Grande Dizionario della lingua italiana,” four volumes of the “Dizionario critico della letteratura italiana” and one volume of “Elementi di storia della lingua italiana.” Published in Torino from 1961 to 2002, the GDLI exceeds the volume count of the Oxford English Dictionary and almost equals the 600,000 words in the OED. It is …

Many business owners dream of their children following in their footsteps. That dream became a reality for veteran property loss adjuster Ben Tedesco when his daughter Renee Tedesco-Ohr earned her public adjuster’s license in 2020. Tedesco-Ohr had been working at Ben Tedesco Inc. in a variety of capacities since 2014. “Renee is the best associate I’ve even had,” says Tedesco, who launched his firm in 1982. “It’s a comfort to know that the company will be in capable hands for decades to come.” Born in Elmwood Park and raised in Shiller Park, Tedesco-Ohr graduated from Mother Guerin High School then …

The Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans held its 2026  Festa della Donna on March 10 at the Des Plaines Theatre. Carmela Capriati and Sharon DePrizio chaired the event, which was hosted by Onesti Entertainment. This year’s theme was “Italian American Women Business Owners,” with 17 standout entrepreneurs sharing the spotlight. Around 150 guests turned out to hear stories about how they all got started. The honorees represented a diverse range of businesses, including consulting, retail, fashion design, bridal couture, Italian product development and distribution, real estate, financial and insurance, floral design, marketing and branding, food industry, …

The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame will host its annual Night at the Fights on May 14 at the Des Plaines Theatre. This year’s event will pit amateur fighters from Ohio and Illinois against each other. Headlining the long list of celebrity boxers slated to appear at the event are Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, WBA Lightweight World Champion and honorary Night at the Fights chairman, and Christy Martin, the first woman inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and the author and subject of the 2025 feature film, “Christy.” Also scheduled to appear are former boxing standouts …

Casa Italia in Stone Park will host its monthly cenetta, Mangiare con gli amici, on May 21 in the Community Center. A happy hour with cash bar at 5:30 p.m. will be followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Served family-style, the menu will include antipasti, lasagna Bolognese, salad, chicken saltimbocca, breaded pork cutlet, roasted potatoes, broccoli in lemon and garlic, fresh fruit, coffee and cake, with a carafe each of red and white wine at each table. The cost is $50 per person. Reservations are required. Sons and Daughters of Italy in America will be spotlighted at the event. To …