There’s a saying: “You are what you eat.” If that’s true, then everyone around here is Italian. It’s the meal of choice at home and dining out, and no one turns it down — not even, I suspect, members of the Chicago news media. I’ve seen plenty of them in Italian restaurants. But a few of these journalists still serve up twisted stories by impugning a person with an Italian surname with inferences they must be in the Outfit.
It’s an overcooked dish that should be sent back. Like me, many Chicagoland residents have Italian surnames or are “IBM” — Italian by marriage, like my wonderful wife. I’ve lived with her here for almost half a century, and in that time, I’ve sadly watched some members of the Chicago news media stigmatize Italian Americans as Outfit members or mafia operatives whenever it serves to embellish a story.
