Aldermen Seek To Yank Fascist Balbo S Name From Chicago Street Rename It For Ida B Wells

 Last August alderman Ed Burke (14th) and northwest-side alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th) said they planned to push for removing the Balbo tributes, and a month later they were ready to introduce an ordinance to City Council. But there was stiff opposition from some local Italian-American civic leaders and history buffs, who view the landmarks as a source of ethnic pride, and the proposal seemed to stall.



 More than 30 civic groups, including the League of Women Voters, the South Side branch of the NAACP, and Women’s March Chicago have endorsed the change. However, Italian-American organizations such as the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, which has been working with aldermen on the plaque proposal, are noticeably absent from the list. It’s also worth noting that last August Reilly stated that, since Chicago has been home to “many great Italian-Americans,” the aldermen hoped to rename the street after a “worthy” one.