Chicago Italians

1431 West Taylor Street
Chicago, Illinois, 60607
312-226-5566 (Phone)
312-226-5678 (Fax)



Museum Hours of Operation:

Monday-Friday: 9AM - 5PM
Saturday-Sunday: 11AM - 4PM

The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is handicap accessible

In 1977, George Randazzo founded the Italian American Boxing Hall of Fame as a way to raise money for a struggling local Catholic youth program. Randazzo collected boxing photos and memorabilia, a hobby that inspired him to organize a fundraising dinner that brought together a list of boxing greats and celebrities. The dinner honored twenty-three former Italian American boxing world champions, including Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Sammy Angott, Willie Pep, and posthumously Rocky Marciano, Primo Carnera and Tony Canzoneri.

The results were so overwhelming that a friend and local businessman, Don Ponte, encouraged Randazzo to start a Hall of Fame to honor all Italian American athletes. One year later, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame was founded as a non-profit, educational institution. The first induction ceremony and banquet was a star-studded event, as the Hall of Fame honored Lou Ambers, Eddie Arcaro, Charlie Trippi, Gino Marchetti, Dom DiMaggio and "The Yankee Clipper," Joe DiMaggio. Mrs. Vince Lombardi also accepted the posthumous induction of her late husband, Coach Vince Lombardi.

In the years that followed, celebrities from all walks of life have come to the annual induction ceremonies to pay tribute to outstanding Italian American sports champions and heroes. A special and uninvited guest took part in the 1980 induction ceremony, as Prisident Jimmy Carter offered his congratulations and addressed the crowd. In 1988 the Hall of Fame moved from its original headquarters in Elmwood Park to Arlington Heights.

The NIASHF enjoyed a new beginning in 1998 with the help of Phoenix Suns Chairman/CEO Jerry Colangelo. A 1994 Inductee and Chicago Heights native, Colangelo was asked by Randazzo to serve as Chairman of an ambitious new Hall of Fame building project in the heart of Chicago's Little Italy. Colangelo accepted, and has succeeded in bringing together civic-minded men and women from across the country in support of the project. In 2000 the new facility was dedicated as "The Jerry Colangelo Center," a tribute to his efforts and leadership.

There are now over 200 inductees enshrined in the Hall of Fame. To date, the organization has raised over 6 million for scholarships and charitable causes. In 27 years, the collection of sports memorabilia the Hall has amassed is second to none. The priceless artifacts include Mario Andretti's Indy 500 racecar, Rocky Marciano's first heavyweight championship belt, Vince Lombardi's last coat worn as coach of the Green Bay Packers, and swimmer Matt Biondi's Olympic Gold Medals.

The Kindness Project

Sharing and Support

The MISS Foundation's Dr. Cacciatore started the Kindness Project in 1996 as a way for families to cope with the tragedy of a child's death. Since then, more than 1,000,000 kindnesses have been committed around the globe in memory of children, gone too soon.

Anyone can participate in memory of anyone!

Here's what you do:

Visit the MISS Foundation's International Kindness Project Day website:

www.KindnessProjectDay.org

between the dates of July 20-27, 2011. Please sign up for our eNews list by clicking here and we'll send you a reminder on July 20th when template are released for you to print Kindness Cards DIY at home yourself. Or as an alternative, send a SASE to The MISS Foundation, PO Box 5333, Peoria, AZ 85385, and we'll send you several cards!

Start thinking about acts of kindness - especially anonymous ones as those are the most powerful - you can commit in your neighborhood and community!

After you get your free templates (available between July 20th and 27th), print your Kindness Project cards in English or Spanish.

Share this event with others! IDEAS FOR THIS: Send email invitation to the Facebook event; print out our Kindness Project Brochure and share them around your town; do your own Kindness Project and send press releases to your local tv, radio, newspapers to spread the word.

Then- drum roll please- on July 27, 2011, go out into this world and help to created more Kindness in memory of your beloved!

Help spread the word by sharing our International Kindness
Project Day press release with your local media!

We hope everyone will join us in this amazing experience! Don't worry- you can commit a Kindness Project act that costs nothing (mow someone's yard, offer a homemade gift, bring cookies to a nursing home), only your time and devotion to another!

Or, you can have fun buying Starbucks for the person in line behind you... or you can leave flowers on a strangers' door... or you can buy someone's meal at a restaurant anonymously, or you can leave a $10 bill on the ground where someone can find it wrapped around a Kindness Project card... the list is endless! See our Kindess Project Ideas page for even more!

Imagine this:
All around the world,
on this one day of the year,
mourners will be transforming their grief into a
powerful message of love, hope, peace, and kindness!

Kiddieland Closing

After visiting Chicago Last Week and actually seeing Kiddieland was gone pushed me to repost these great memories

Sadly, Kiddieland closed for good on September 27, 2009. Kiddieland leases the land that it sits on and the lease has finally come to an end. There will be no renewal of the lease. Addtional information will be posted on the website at a later date. All of us who grew up in Chicago in the 50's 60's and 70's  all remember Kiddieland...Ahhhh the good ole days !!

The MISS Foundation is a volunteer based organization committed to providing crisis support and long term aid to families after the death of a Child, Of which I am a Member and Mentor to other Parents, After the loss of our Dawn Marie ,They supported me !! and countless other families.. Please help me support them and Thank You

*Don’t Tell Me*
Please don't tell me you know how I feel, Unless you have lost your child too,
Please don't tell me my broken heart will heal, Because that is just not true,
Please don't tell me my daughter is in a better place,
Though it is true, I want her here with me,
Don't tell me someday I'll hear her voice, see her face,
Beyond today I cannot see, Don’t tell me it is time to move on,
Because I cannot, Don’t tell me to face the fact she is gone,
Because denial is something I can't stop,
Don't tell me to be thankful for the time I had, Because I wanted more,
Don't tell me when I am my old self you will be glad,
I'll never be as I was before, What you can tell me is you will be here for me,
That you will listen when I talk of my child,
You can share with me my precious memories,
You can even cry with me for a while,
And please don't hesitate to say her name,
Because it is something I long to hear every day,
Friend please realize that I can never be the same,
But if you stand by me, you may like the new person I become someday.

To Donate Click This Link      http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/316477?bws=fb_stream_wish

Birth:	Apr. 28,   1906
Death:	May 22,  1992
Organized Crime Figure. Born in Chicago, Illinois in  1906, he joined the city's organized crime family, the "Outfit," during  the late 1920s. He served under three bosses (Alphonse  Capone, Frank  Nitti, and Paul  Ricca), before becoming the boss himself. He expanded the Outfit's  influence to most of the western states, eventually succeeding in  allowing the Outfit total independence from the eastern mobs which had  their own ruling commission and territories. Anthony Accardo, who was  also known as the "Big Tuna," ruled the family from approximately 1943  until 1957, when he abdicated leadership to his underboss, Sam  (Momo) Giancana. When Giancana went to prison in 1965, he returned  to full control untiL  the early 1970s, when his new underboss Joseph  Aiuppa took the reigns - always with his supervision. His years on  the Chicago throne were remarkable by their brutality and bloodshed,  particularly on violators of the drug ban enforced in the city. He,  unlike other mob bosses throughout history, was serious about this rule.  When the Chicago leadership was decimated by Las Vegas casino skimming  convictions in the mid-1980s, he returned to the fold and reinstated a  new administration, remaining in the background to survey their  management. When he passed away in 1992, the family he had turned into a  vast army of money-making killers was a shell of its former self.

After losing my Daughter to a hit and run driver in 2001, , I feel the strong need to have a place for others who have lost someone to this conscienceless crime, As I watch the nightly news here in Arizona, there is not a night that goes by that there isn't a story about another hit and run, And as I watch this I relive our loss...Hoping to build support here to help increase penalty for this horrible crime!

This New Website will feature Hit and Run drivers for all to see \

http://crimeofcowards.com/

Another Chicago Class Act
Date of Birth: November 13, 1947

"I never lose sight of the fact that I'm in a line of work that is, essentially, other people's fantasies."

Born Joseph Anthony Mantegna Jr., Joe and his big brother Ronald were brought up in Chicago, Illinois. When he was eight, he contracted rheumatic fever, and was sent to a charity sanatorium for five months to recover. He attended Morton East High School in Cicero when he met his future wife, actress Arlene Vrhel.

After high school, Joe went to Morton Junior College and in two years, he won a scholarship to the Goodman Theater School in DePaul University. In 1969 he met up with Vrhel again. The two began dating when both were cast in a production of Hair, and married six years later in 1975. They presently have two daughters, Mia Marie, born 1987 and Gina born 1991.

Mantegna received a number of awards for his work on stage and in television and film. He won an award for his role in Bleacher Bums from the New York Dramatics Guild in 1979.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until 1984 that audiences began to notice him. He made his breakthrough with his stage role as Ricky Roma in Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he won a Tony for Best Featured Actor and the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actor, and shared the 1984 award for Outstanding Ensemble from the Special Drama Desk Awards.

From his success in theater, he transferred his energy to film. Although he began with smaller roles, his patience would pay off when in 1988, he won Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of a two-bit gangster in Things Change (1988).

Since then, he has been getting roles in largely mediocre films, but at times can also be found in big hits including Godfather III (1990), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) and Thinner (1996). He has starred in television series such as Joan of Arcadia from 2003 to 2005, and on Criminal Minds. He also works on the big screen in films such as Witless Protection (2008).

The Italian beef sandwich is serious business in Chicago. We're not fooling around here. Everyone has their favorite place. Once people make up there mind that's it. There's no changing it.
Let's separate the favorites by territory. Taylor Street has Al's No. 1 Italian Beef, Elmwood Park has Johnnie's Beef, River North has Mr. Beef, Buona Beef in Berwyne and Max's Famous Italian Beef on North Western Ave., just to name a few.Where I come from many of us grew up with Al's. After trying all the rest Al's still remains my favorite.
Now that I touched on the legendary Chicago Italian beef sandwich lets get to my not so famous recipe. You can try it at home. It's good and you'll enjoy it but don't even tell me the ones I mentioned are better, I'm sure they are. They've been making them a lot longer than I have.
Still I guarantee this Italian beef sandwich will be one of the best home recipes you'll make.

INGREDIENTS 5 pound rump roast 6 cloves of garlic chopped fine 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp of dried basil 1 tsp of dried thyme 1 onion slice 2 cups of beef broth 1/2 cup of red wine 1/2 cup of water 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp salt 3 red and green bell peppers Italian Rolls PREPARATION Mix garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub mixture into beef. Massage it thoroughly. Like you're on a date. Place the beef in a large plastic bag and add 1 cup of broth, wine and onion. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 4 hours or overnight. Heat oven to 350 degrees Place roast in a roasting pan and pour the marinade over the roast. Add the remaining broth and water. Roast with no lid for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours turning once within that time. Remove roast and let stand till cool. Reserve juice. Slice beef thin on a meat slicer. If you don't have a slicer, get one. You'll use it for a lot more things than roast beef. Place beef in juice. Cut peppers into slices and saute in oil until done.Slice your rolls and pile on that juicy beef. Add sweet peppers or giardinera and eat. Don't forget those napkins. In the summer, try this recipe on a grill. Oh my goodness!

                                    

    

Spread the Stupidity