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Before and after: Columbus monument in Arrigo Park before 2020 and after.
My kinda town…not if you’re an Italian American or Chicago Bears fan.
Two symbols of Chicago’s spirit of rugged determination and resilient innovation seem all but lost last Friday, February 20.
The city of Chicago confirmed the statue of Christopher Columbus was not returning to Arrigo Park.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears seem likely to abandon Soldier Field, where they’ve played home games in Chicago since 1926. The team is ready to move to Indiana, where they’ll have the best of deals for an outdoor arena there.
Credit Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s mayor for going 0 for 2. He lost Columbus and now looks like he’ll lose the Chicago Bears. He did this in one day!
Before and after: Columbus monument in Arrigo Park before 2020 and after.
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Out Columbus, In Cabrini
It will be a statue of Frances Xavier Cabrini, America’s first saint, who will rise in Arrigo Park, replacing the long-standing monument to Christopher Columbus.
The statue of the great Italian explorer was removed under the dead of night by then mayor, Lori Lightfoot. She went back on her promise to Italian American leaders that the statue was to stay in Arrigo Park. Her turnaround came when rioters invaded her neighborhood. The mayor’s fortunes declined rapidly after she flipped on Columbus. She got destroyed in reelection, not even surviving a primary challenge. The political message was as clear as dawn over Lake Michigan: You disavow Columbus, you lose.
The decision to erect a statue of Mother Cabrini raises questions about heritage, identity, and who gets honored in the civic landscape. Do Italian Americans get to choose their hero? Do Italian Americans get to keep their heritage, their artwork, their legacy? Non a Chicago!
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Mayor Brandon Johnson seems unable to stop the Chicago Bears moving out of Chicago.
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Three Statues, One Debate
Chicago once had three Columbus statues: one in Arrigo Park in Little Italy, one in Grant Park, and another on the South Side. All were removed in 2020 after riots broke out in America’s major cities when George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis.
The Cabrini decision applies only to the Arrigo Park site.
The Chicago Park District initiated a public selection process for a replacement figure of Italian heritage. Voters had the choice of Cabrini, Enrico Fermi, Philip Mazzei, Maria Montessori, Florence Scala, Renato Dulbecco, Antonin Scalia, and Amerigo Vespucci.
Not Columbus!
Why was that, you ask. Because Columbus would’ve won.
The city framed the process as forward-looking—choosing a new honoree rather than revisiting the old one. In other words, when it comes to public artwork about a heroic Italian, Italian Americans—you don’t count.
After roughly 3,900 votes were cast, Cabrini received the largest share.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot with Governor JB Pritzker. Lightfoot tore down Columbus monuments
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Timeline: When Will Cabrini Rise?
The Park District has opened an artist selection process, beginning with a request for qualifications. A final design on the Cabrini statue must be chosen, fabricated, and erected.
Installation is likely sometime in late 2026 or into 2027, though no official date has been announced.
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What Happens to Columbus?
The Columbus statue is likely to be displayed indoors—somewhere, as part of an Italian American heritage or immigration history context. The founder of the New World will become nothing more than a footnote in America’s third largest city. He will be an afterthought—nothing more than a quaint relic of past days when Italian Americans first served deep dish pizza in the Windy City.
Don’t think the removal was a neutral historical reassessment. This is politics. Italians don’t count in Chicago’s current power structure. To change that, they need to speak up.
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Chicago Italians, Do Something!
What can Italian Americans in Chicago do?
They can “appeal” the decision. They can do what George Bochetto, Basil Russo, and the Italian Americans of Philadelphia did. They can fight back. They can recruit the best of lawyers to take on the park district. They can lobby City Hall. They can press their aldermen. They can organize petitions and public forums. They can advocate for a dual monument. They can do something, anything, but let this decision stand.
Wake up, Chicagoans! Wake up Italian Americans! You’re losing Columbus. You’re losing the Bears. You’re losing your city.
Editor’s Note:
The web site for Chicago Park District is: https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
The web site for the Chicago Bears is https://www.chicagobears.com
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