Profiles

Rich Belmonte was not one of those boys who dreamed of becoming a firefighter. But at the age of 32, he was curious if he could perform the firefighter physical agility test with the younger participants. He had already spent time in the Army, having served in Korea years prior, so his strength and agility was comparable to the younger applicants he was surrounded by. Once he passed the test, he decided to accept the position of firefighter for the Village of Westchester. Although he didn’t know it at the time, joining the Army gave him structure and experience he …

This month, we highlight the distinguished career of Carl Gigante, one of the more esteemed and successful lawyers in the Illinois legal profession and an outstanding member of our ethnic community. Carl achieved recognition as one of the leading lawyers in Illinois in the most complicated field of eminent domain law. Gigante is the second son of Joseph, a motion picture projectionist, and Annette Gigante, a homemaker. Gigante’s older brother, Joe, is a family physician in the western suburbs. The Gigante brothers grew up in the Far West Side’s Galewood neighborhood in a Chicago-style bungalow. They were raised in the …

Community leader, ethnic activist, money manager, investment counselor, and Italophile — this month I introduce the readers to Joseph W. Lamberti. Skilled, educated, trained and certified to provide financial planning management specifically for individuals and business owners in his capacity as wealth management advisor and vice president with Merrill Lynch, all Joe wanted to talk about in anticipation of writing this article were his Italian roots. “My family is from the town of Piandelagotti in the Apennine Mountains of northern Italy. It is a quaint place with beautiful views. Along one main road there is a church, town square, restaurant, …

This month’s subject provided me with a wonderful narrative that I am republishing here with minor editing, mainly for length. Please meet Sal Indomenico, a highly respected Illinois attorney, in his own words: “My life began in a small town, Floridia-Siracusa, Sicily, born to Antonio and Girolama Indomenico (nee Buccheri). My father, a welder, was 21 when I was born, and my mother, a seamstress, was 17. At the age of 4, my parents, baby brother and I left Sicily for Melbourne, Australia, where my father had siblings. Melbourne has a fairly large Italian community and offered a better opportunity …

Over the last 25 years or so, we have read in the pages of Chicagoland ethnic and legal publications about Joseph M. Gagliardo, past president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. We learned about Joe when he was president of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, who distinguished himself in that position. We appreciate him for being a founder and charter board member of the political voice of our community, our Italian American Political Coalition. The January 2011 edition of Super Lawyers, a highly respected legal publication, listed Joe as one of the “Top Attorneys in Illinois” and because …

This month we posthumously highlight the distinguished career of a giant in the business world, a trailblazer and legend in the Italian-American community. Nello V. Ferrara passed, after a full and successful life, in early February 2012. Mr. Ferrara was Chairman of the Board of Ferrara Pan Candy Company of Forest Park, which was founded by his father, Salvatore Ferrara, in 1908. Completing his education in 1942, when he graduated from DePaul University Law School, earning his Doctorate of Juris Prudence, Nello Ferrara subsequently became a member of the Illinois Bar. At that time, there were probably less than 100 …

This month we highlight the distinguished career of Gia Biagi, who, for the last decade, has worked for the Chicago Park District, currently as the Director of Planning and Development. Her current responsibilities in that significant position include leading development of long-term strategic capital improvement planning and setting priorities for the $350 million park design and construction program, designing and developing 300 discrete projects annually, ranging from new community centers and playgrounds to natural areas and urban horticulture sites, leading successful intergovernmental effort to acquire more than $60 million in tax increment financing for park projects, and acquiring over 100 …

This month we introduce our readers to one of the more highly respected Italian-American judges in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Judge Robert W. Bertucci. Judge Bertucci graduated from Lake Forest College in 1979, and received his law degree with high honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983. After passing the bar, he joined the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he ultimately served as a first chair in a felony trial courtroom at the Criminal Courts Building. He later transferred to the Medical Malpractice Division in the Civil Actions Bureau. In 1992, …

In researching individuals with distinguished careers from our community to highlight in these pages, I subscribe to numerous publications, not to mention alumni newsletters from the various colleges and law schools around this state. In the most recent edition of “Loyola Living,” I learned of two outstanding folks from our community, Drs. John Leonetti and Sam Marzo. The article introduced them as “surgeons who restore hearing.” Both distinguished individuals went to medical school and residency at Loyola where they both now practice. They both are members of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Loyola. They have …

This month, we highlight the distinguished career of James V. Inendino, a highly respected lawyer who practices in the area of real estate, real estate finance and general complicated financial transactions. He has extensive experience representing commercial developers in shopping center and industrial property developments and has advised numerous owners and developers in their acquisitions, developments, financing and leasing transactions. Like all of us, Jim Inendino brings to his professional responsibilities the values that he developed as an Italian American growing up in the Chicago area, as a student at schools in the area and, especially in his case, as …