Onori

  It is 2 a.m., Saturday April 13, 2016. Italo Americo Bove, or “Bob” to his friends, rises out of bed. He has a 4a.m. appointment with 100 other Veterans. On this morning, forty WWII veterans and sixty-one Korean War veterans will gather at Midway Airport in Chicago to board Southwest Airlines, courtesy of Honor Flight Chicago. Honor Flight Chicago was founded in February of 2008 to recognize Chicagoland’s World War II and Korean War veterans by flying them, all-expense-paid to Washington DC for a day of honor, remembrance and celebration. To date, 6355 Chicago area veterans have made this …

Walgreens is fond of telling its loyal clientele that it’s “at the corner of Happy and Healthy.” If you’re looking for someone special at that intersection, someone who’s dedicate to making the happy and the healthy happen, you’re likely to find Andrea Collaro. As Senior Director of Brand Management and Product Development for the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Collaro oversees all products under the Walgreens banner. If it sounds like an incredible responsibility, it is — not just to Walgreens customers, but also to young women who look up to strong female business leaders. If anyone needs proof she’s a role …

Becoming a healer is a calling and, certainly, many in the nursing field can rightfully claim that title. But in mid-April, Carmi Fazio — who works with Molina Healthcare of Illinois — was picked as one of three finalists for the CURE Media Group’s Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing. Fazio — who is Sicilian on her father’s side, Genovese and Romano on her mother’s — traces a direct line between her nursing skills and her family background. “Perhaps I am a bit biased but I have never met an Italian who wouldn’t help those in need,” says Fazio, who …

As he completed his studies to become an Illinois state trooper in 2010, Jonn-Paul Oliveto was pulled out of class and into a room where he stood opposite a captain, sergeant and master sergeant. To earn a passing mark, he had to sing the National Anthem. “I had an appointment to perform in front of them, without any rehearsal, so you can imagine my nerves,” recalls Oliveto, a trooper who works the Chicago area for the state police today. “But I’d come up with an idea: Instead of having the bagpipes play the National Anthem for our graduation ceremony, I …

Photo by Mark Seliger. At least the story starts in familiar fashion: Christian Picciolini’s parents emigrated from Italy to the United States, where they would meet, marry, raise a family and work hard at building a successful small business. But without his parents around to attend his school functions and sports game, Picciolini turned to a heartbreaking place to find his identity: the American white supremacist skinhead movement. He wasn’t even 14 at the time. “Hell, I had no idea who I wanted to be — aside from Rocky Balboa, of course,” says Picciolini, who has Italian lineage on both …

  Italian Americans have many reasons to celebrate the enclaves that nurtured immigrants and changed families: Taylor Street, 24th & Oakley, Little Sicily on the Near North Side and Melrose Park are just a few that come to mind. On the Far South Side, Roseland became a bustling center for Italian life and culture. One man has taken on the laudable task of keeping Roseland’s memories and magnificence alive: C.J. Martello. Arguably, Martello knows Roseland and the adjoining Pullman and Kensington neighborhoods better than anyone. He was married at St. Anthony Italian Catholic Church in 1972, and has steeped himself …

  Italian Consul General Adriano Monti presented Umberto “Tony” Turano with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Stella d’Italia at the consulate’s Festa della Repubblica celebration on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Tony in honor of his contributions on the business and cultural fronts to promote Calabrian and Italian culture in America. “It was a tremendous honor to have my work in the community acknowledged in this way,” Tony says. “But my greatest honor has been to work with my brothers for the …

  Italian Consul General Adriano Monti presented Josette Mentesana Weber with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana at the consulate’s Festa della Repubblica celebration on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Josette in honor of her contributions to the preservation of the Italian language and culture in the Chicago area. “This honor would have made my parents very happy and proud,” Josette said. “To me, it is both an exhortation and a responsibility to do more for our community, especially for the …

  Senatore Renato Turano presented Dominic Candeloro with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia at the Festa della Repubblica celebration hosted by Italian Consul General Adriano Monti on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Dominic in honor of his academic and community efforts on behalf of Italian-American studies. “It is a wonderful honor that I never expected,” Dominic says. “I only wish that my mother and father were still alive to share the pride. The award is similar to the medals that my father …

  Senatore Renato Turano presented Shirley Fedeli with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia at the Festa della Repubblica celebration hosted by Italian Consul General Adriano Monti on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Shirley in honor of her enormous contributions to the cultural life of the Rockford-area Italian-American community. “It was one of the most breathtaking feelings I’ve ever experienced!” Shirley exclaimed. “It was so wonderful to be there with my amazing Rockford friends and my entire family, particularly my husband, Gene, and …