It may come as a surprise to Italian Americans living in the northern half of the Chicago area, but the far southwest suburbs boast substantial communities of paesani as well. “Mokena’s population is the highest and Homer Glen has a large one as well,” reports longtime local elected official Steve Balich. “Joliet and Crest Hill have good-sized populations, too, and so does Lockport and a couple of the neighboring suburbs.”

Balich and others formed the Will County Italian American Association last summer to rally their compatriots around each other and their culture. “We started the group to support our heritage and bring people together to hang out and share our traditions,” he explains. “We wanted to make those a part of our everyday lives.”