In the same week that Donald Trump announced his intention to bring Columbus Day “back from the ashes,” the Chicago Park District has reached a settlement with the Joint Civic Community of Italian Americans to resolve a years-long legal battle over the removal of a Christopher Columbus statue from Arrigo Park in July 2020.
As part of the agreement, the Park District will indefinitely “loan” the monument to the JCCIA, who plan to display it in a new Chicago Museum of Italian Immigration on Taylor Street. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) will also commission a new statue for Arrigo Park, following a “community engagement process to select a person to be honored who is known for their contributions to Chicago’s Italian American community,” the press release reads.
“The Chicago Park District is committed to diversifying our statuary to ensure we are honoring Chicago’s rich history and diversity,” said Parks’ General Superintendent and CEO Ramirez-Rosa. “To that end, we look forward to convening the process to determine which Italian American will be honored at Arrigo Park, and which artworks will replace the Grant Park plinth. Throughout these processes, we will continue to engage Chicago’s diverse communities.”
However, the Italian American organization has conceded to the removal of the plinth that anchored the Grant Park Columbus monument, restoring public access to this section of the park. Even so, JCCIA President Ron Onesti celebrated the settlement as a win, stating that, “No. 1, it’s in a safe situation. No. 2, it’s the central focus point of the story of Italian immigration in Chicago. No. 3, it’s still on Taylor Street.”
As for the soon-to-be commissioned statue for the park, Onesti made his preference for its subject clear: Mother Frances Cabrini.
“She was the patron saint of the immigrant,” said Onesti. “She also created Cabrini Hospital, over 60 orphanages, schools, and hospitals around the world. She was a pioneering woman of Italian extraction who made a difference with immigrants in Chicago.”
With this new agreement in place, Onesti and the JCCIA will now shift their focus to the removed Columbus statue in Grant Park, which he promised would be the “next topic of discussion.” The statues in Arrigo and Grant Parks were both removed nearly five years ago following civil unrest in Chicago in the wake of George Floyd’s death. While former mayor Lori Lightfoot initially justified her decision to remove them to protect protestors and police, the monuments have remained in storage since that time, with no meaningful efforts to restore them to their original locations.
While plans for the Arrigo Park statue are set, the future of the Grant Park statue—and other Christopher Columbus monuments in Chicago and across the country—remains uncertain.
