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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Little Italy, sometimes combined with University
3Village, is one of Chicago's most vibrant communities; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The community was once predominantly Italian
5immigrants but now consists of diverse ethnic and
6socio-economic backgrounds; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Other ethnicities have always been present in the
8area; nonetheless, the neighborhood was given its name due to
9the strong influence of Italians and Italian culture on the
10neighborhood throughout the 19th and 20th century; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The area's Italian-American heritage is primarily
12evident in the Italian-American restaurants that once lined
13Taylor Street; the neighborhood is home to the National Italian
14American Sports Hall of Fame and the historic Roman Catholic
15churches Our Lady of Pompeii, Notre Dame de Chicago, and Holy
16Family; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The recent history of the neighborhood is that of
18urban renewal, starting with the construction of expressways in
19the 1950s, the development of the University of Illinois at
20Chicago in the 1960s, the demolition of public housing in the
211990s and 2000s, and the redevelopment of Maxwell Street in the

 

 

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12000s; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Perhaps the largest concentration of Italian
3businesses and residents in present-day Chicago is located
4along Harlem Avenue on the Northwest Side and neighboring
5Elmwood Park; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
7HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8we urge the City of Chicago to honorarily rename the section of
9Harlem Avenue from Foster Avenue to Grand Avenue as "Via
10Italia"; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12delivered to the Chicago City Council.