Despite backlash from members of the local Italian-American community, Chicago aldermen are proceeding with their proposal to rename Balbo Drive and move or modify the Balbo Monument, memorials to a henchman of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The tributes were added shortly after Italo Balbo, a leader of the Blackshirts paramilitary units and later Mussolini’s air commander, landed at Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair with a squadron of 24 seaplanes.
Heath said King and Reilly will have the final say on the new street name, since the current Balbo Drive runs through their wards. He added that the aldermen were leaning toward installing a sign next to the monument to explain why a gift from a fascist dictator stands on Chicago’s lakefront. This would be a far cheaper alternative to transporting the ancient pillar to another location such as a museum.
However, civic committee president emeritus Dominic DiFrisco, who published an op-ed in the Sun-Times on September 9 defending Balbo’s legacy, says there will be payback if the aldermen move forward with their plan to rename the street. “We can show our disdain and disrespect for the aldermen who support for this ordinance at the voting booth,” he says. “Hopefully more intelligent minds will prevail.” v
