Tag Archives: Arrigo Park

The statue of Christopher Columbus that for decades graced Arrigo Park is heading back to the neighborhood it once called home after spending nearly five years in storage. After a protracted legal battle, the Chicago Park District has finally released the statue into the care of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The cherished icon will be installed as the centerpiece of a new museum on Taylor Street dedicated to the Italian immigrants of Chicago. “This resolution is a huge victory for our community, and to all those who believe in free speech and artistic expression,” JCCIA President Ron …

If you’re just now finding out about the agreement to bring the Christopher Columbus statue back to the Near West Side, you might be disappointed to learn that it’s headed for a museum on Taylor Street rather than its pedestal in Arrigo Park. (For more, click here.) But those of us who watched the process unfold at the monthly meetings of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans can tell you just how triumphant the final accord truly is. As many of you know, the JCCIA is a congress of 50-plus local organizations tasked with acting on behalf of the …

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans has filed a complaint in the Chancery Court of Cook County against the Chicago Park District in an effort to return the Columbus statue to its original location in Arrigo Park. “On July 24, 2020, it is believed that Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the removal of the city’s three Columbus statues, claiming it as a safety measure during protests and civil unrest,” the JCCIA noted in a press release. “It was to be ‘temporary,’ and the JCCIA’s position is that a year is long enough.” “We have reached out to the park district …

Ron Onesti has honored the city of Chicago’s request to take down the Italian-American Pride banners that had surrounded the base of the Christopher Columbus statue in Arrigo Park since last fall. Onesti installed them without a permit after the statue was removed by the city in the wake of civil unrest this summer. “They were beautifying the site for months, and thousands of people enjoyed them, but we’re law-abiding citizens, and the city was well within its rights to request their removal,” says Onesti, who spearheaded and paid for the banners personally before his election as JCCIA president. “We’re negotiating …