Profiles

Sono cresciuta intorno a una grande famiglia d’italiani. Mia nonna è nata in Italia però lei è venuta negli Stati Uniti con mio nonno quando loro erano giovani. I miei genitori sono della stessa città e si sono conosciuti in Italia quando mia madre era in vacanza. Mio padre è nato in Italia però è venuto negli Stati Uniti con mia madre dopo che loro si sono sposati, per dare ai miei fratelli e a me una vita migliore. L’italiano è una cosa importante per me perché tutta la mia famiglia è italiana. Io devo imparare a parlare italiano davvero …

Addison Trail High School e Indian Trail Junior High hanno collaborato per un giorno speciale. Laura Calo e Enza Spilotro hanno portato gli studenti da Addison Trail a Indian Trail. Gli studenti a Addison Trail hanno insegnato agli studenti di Indian Trail con giochi italiani e conversazioni. Il giorno ha permesso agli studenti di lavorare tra loro e divertirsi usando la lingua Italiana. Gli studenti a Indian Trail sono in Italiano Livello uno, mentre quelli che vanno a Addison Trail saranno raccomandati per il secondo livello. È stata una giornata di successo e molto divertente! —Lauren Barone

ABC news anchor and reporter Alan Krashesky and social justice luminary Rabbi Abraham Cooper were honored at the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans’ annual media luncheon on May 16. Krashesky received 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. Cooper will be given the Mazzei Award, which is presented to a person who shows extraordinary skills in the world of communications. Each year, the JCCIA Human Relations Committee recognizes a member of the news media who has answered Dante Alighieri’s call …

For decades, Joseph Salerno served as a source of comfort for thousands of families and friends throughout the suburbs. In March, those family, friends and peers remembered and celebrated the 78-year-old funeral director who served as CEO of Salerno’s Rosedale in Roselle and Galewood Chapels in Chicago. In the early 1960s, Salerno entered the family business — which was founded more than a century ago by his grandfather Rosario D. Salerno — and became president of the operation in 1995. Under his stewardship, the family in 1994 opened their Roselle facility. George entered the family business at that time after …

The Rev. Richard LaPata was praised for 20 years of service to the Columbian Club of Chicago at the organization’s installation gala in January. First Vice President Mark Corrado delivered the following remarks before calling Fr. LaPata to the podium to accept an award: “Fr. LaPata came to know the Dominicans as a student at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Little did he know on his first day at Fenwick he would soon enter the Order of Preachers. Following graduation in 1950, young Dick LaPata joined dozens of classmates at the University of Notre Dame. After two years …

The Pav YMCA in Berwyn presented Carl Reina with the 2019 Robert W. Teeter Award on May 3 at Skylite West Banquets in Berwyn. The award is presented in memory of legendary community leader Robert W. Teeter. Reina was a founding member of the Italian American Civic Organization of Berwyn, using his home as collateral when the organization purchased its clubhouse. Reina served as feast committee chairman for the Maria SS. Lauretana Society for 44 years, when the feast was held in Cermak Plaza Shopping Center in Berwyn. He also played an active role in the Houby Day Parade and …

Through “The Italian American Experience,” John Viola shines a light on all that makes our heritage great. While our immigrant forebears sat by giant radio consoles to absorb the news, music and culture of Italy, today’s Italian Americans have podcasts and, among them, one has remarkable traction. How much? Try roughly 20,000 listens per episode. Not bad for a program that’s less than four years old and the product of programmers learning the ropes as they go. The driving force behind “The Italian American Experience” (italianamericanexperience.com) and its every-other-week companion, “The Italian American Power Hour,” is John Viola. If that …

Having participated in the liberation of Dachau during World War II, Joe Sacco inspired his son to write a book that bears witness to the atrocities he encountered. When I was a boy, my father often told me stories about World War II. I would listen with wide-eyed fascination as he recounted tales of how he and his buddies fought their way across Europe under the leadership of Gen. George S. Patton. He showed me Nazi swords, daggers and other artifacts he had collected as his battalion stormed through France and Germany en route to the ultimate victory. But there …

A York, più studenti hanno ricevuto il “Seal of Biliteracy” in italiano. È un premio dato a studenti che hanno mostrato competenze nei quattro modi di comunicare: parlare, ascoltare, leggere e scrivere. È importante praticare molto e chiedere al professore per tempo fuoriclasse di praticare. Si può praticare con gli amici che studiano l’italiano, guardare i film italiani e ascoltare la musica. Raggiungere il “Seal of Biliteracy” in italiano è davvero un risultato significativo — riflette la capacità di comunicare in italiano e di aver raggiunto un livello di padronanza. Il “Seal of Biliteracy” è un bene per tutta la …

Quest’anno siamo andati a Barilla America a Northbrook. Lì abbiamo avuto la grande opportunità di conoscere il presidente, Jean-Pierre Comte, e il vicepresidente di supply chain, Fabio Pettenati. Loro ci hanno insegnato della storia di Barilla, la missione, e delle funzioni giornaliere della compagnia. Siamo anche andati a vedere La Bohème a Chicago Civic Opera House. Ci siamo preparati per l’opera in tanti modi: ascoltando la musica, studiando i personaggi, e leggendo la sinossi dell’opera. L’esperienza era illuminante perché abbiamo potuto visualizzare la storia. Molto bella è stata la nevicata sul palcoscenico: era proprio incantevole. Dunque, le gite sono essenziali …