Crediting the JCCIA with setting him on his life’s path, Ron Onesti is looking to return the favor as the organization’s incoming president. At awards ceremonies, it’s not uncommon for recipients to well up as they recall those who helped them earn their place at the podium. Installations of officers tend to be more stoic affairs, but there Ron One...

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans came roaring out of the gate at its first official meeting following the January installation of its 2021-22 officers.Recently elected President Ron Onesti and a burgeoning cadre of JCCIA leaders have the organization hitting on all cylinders as they upshift into their two-year terms. The meeting was h...

The City of Chicago, in a release distributed on February 17, 2021, launched the Chicago Monuments Project website at chicagomonuments.org kicking off the public engagement phase of the Chicago Monuments Project. The new website identifies monumental sculptures, artworks, and commemorative plaques on the public way and in Chicago parks selected by...

Two years ago, the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans took its scholarship program to a new level by concentrating the annual interest income from the Nick & Helena Patti and Frank J. Vigilante scholarship foundations into a few big-ticket bestowals. The following are this year’s beneficiaries. Mia Rumps (Patti scholarship) is a student at...

I’m so proud to be writing to you as the new president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. It’s a sacred trust I take as seriously as anything I’ve ever done. I have big plans for our venerable organization, and there will be plenty of time to share those with you in the coming months. Right now, though, we need to bear down on a tim...

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans is proud to announce the unanimous election of Ron Onesti as its new President. The JCCIA is the umbrella organization of almost fifty organizations in the Chicago area and has produced Chicago’s Columbus Day Parade since its inception in 1952. Ron will lead the Italian American community in fostering...

JCCIA past President Enza Ranieri, representing current President Sergio Giangrande, presented the final check for our Helping Hands COVID-19 Relief campaign to Benton House food pantry. Located in a beautiful vintage building that was a settlement house many years ago, Alderman Patrick D. Thompson and Mary Murray of Benton House were there to rece...

While the pandemic has brought some families closer together, it has kept many others apart. And with the holidays approaching and state restrictions still in force, we’re all wondering how to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in our hearts. The JCCIA is doing its part by inviting you to share your favorite Italian-American holiday memories with t...

October 12 2020 Roma, Italy / The United States

Columbus Day in Chicago will look different this year as the fight for the return of the Columbus statues weighs heavy on the Italian American community. One of the Columbus statues removed this summer sat at Arrigo Park. It was relocated because of violent protests, but not destroyed. Italian Americans say enough is enough and to put the statues b...