Chicago City Wire

With several statues of Christopher Columbus taken down, Ron Onesti is passionately campaigning Columbus’ significance in the Italian-American heritage.

“As Italian Americans, we have a strong feeling about Columbus and it’s come to be an icon that represents traditions that we have celebrated for generations,” Onesti, president of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, told Chicago City Wire.

Onesti, who is also the incoming president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans in Chicago, also said that Italian-Americans have no problem with a broader scope of stories being told. 

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans said they have not been consulted, and they would need to know when the statues will be returned, CBS2 reported.

“It’s not realized,” Onesti said. They’re thinking removing Columbus is just removing a guy from hundreds of years ago, they don’t realize it’s affecting me because that statue and those traditions represent my grandparents that came here from Italy looking for a better place for their family and they celebrated at that statue. These were gifts to the city. They were paid for by the Italian American community in recognition of the World’s Fairs.”

The Christopher Columbus Statue located at Columbus Plaza in Arrigo Park, Little Italy, Chicago was similarly taken down in July following the orders of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“For example, the one at Arrigo Park on Taylor Street, was built in 1892 for the 1893 Columbian Exhibition at the World's Fair held in Chicago in the Italian pavilion to recognize the contributions of Italian Americans,” Onesti continued.

According to him, the statue was then paid for by an insurance agency until the 1950s. Then was later gifted to the city and was placed in storage. 

To honor Italian-Americans, then-Illinois State Rep. Victor Arrigo raised $25,000 In 1966 to get the statue out of storage. Arrigo had it mounted in the plaza now called Arrigo Park.