Group from Mother Cabrini’s home visits shrine

Forty-one pilgrims from the Diocese of Lodi, Italy, prayed to and praised St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was born in that area, in a recent visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, where the saint’s forearm bone was on display.

            Msgr. Giuseppe Merisi, vescoud of Lodi, led the tour group and presided over a prayer service devoted to Cabrini, who died 90 years ago.

            “Thank you for coming here and for giving us such a wonderful woman as Mother Cabrini, who came from your home town,” said the Very Rev. John Canary, vicar general of the Chicago Archdiocese, who at a Sept. 5 ceremony honoring the visitors filled in for Cardinal Francis George, who was in Rome.

            Cabrini built more than 60 schools, hospitals, and orphanages during her 30 years in the United States including St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital on the Near West Side. The hospital opened in 1913 and was closed in 1996. The arm relic, encased in a wooden reliquary covered in gold leaf, is one of several of her relics distributed around the world after her body was exhumed in 1938; its final destination likely will be a shrine at the former Columbus Hospital in Lincoln Park.

            A lecture series, Walking with a Saint, is being conducted at churches and shrines around Chicago this year to commemorate the anniversary of Cabrini’s death. Cardinal George will close the series with a liturgy at 10 a.m. Sat. Dec. 22 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii.

            -- Susan S. Stevens

 

Chinatown Chamber celebration set

Chicago's Chinatown Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its 25th anniversary at a fundraising gala on Sunday evening, Oct. 28, in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Chicago Hotel, 720 S. Michigan Ave. The chamber's board of directors will welcome more than 800 guests, making the event one of the largest gatherings of Chinese and American business leaders, community leaders, and officials from the Chicago metropolitan area.

                Entertainment will include live music, raffles, and drawings. Also, the Miss Friendship Ambassador Pageant featuring 13 foreign- and American-born contestants will be held during the gala; the pageant winner will travel to Hong Kong in early winter to participate in the Miss Chinese International Pageant.

Tickets are $125 per person. Contact the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce for further details at (312) 326-5320.

--Susan Fong

 

Huge AA meeting held at UIC

The crowd streaming into the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion on Saturday evening, Sept. 15, looked as diverse as any Chicago crowd piling into a sports arena: men, women, young, old, White, Black, prosperous, and not so. Beneath the surface, however, there were more similarities than differences. These people shared the common equalizer of alcoholism. Some 7,000 of them were gathering to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the first Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting held in Chicago and to celebrate their own sobriety.

This All Chicago Open Meeting of AA used a format similar to most other AA meetings, but on a much larger scale. Two members, both sober more than 20 years, told their powerful, hope-filled stories—one with humor and the other much more seriously—as they spoke of the toll alcoholism had taken on their lives. Both talked about how AA had given them the strength and support to change the way they lived their lives.

After the talks came the eagerly anticipated sobriety count down. It started by asking those with more than 50 years of sobriety to stand up to the crowd’s applause and worked down year by year with ever increasing applause to those with one year, one month, one week, and then a deafening roar for the two young men who stood and acknowledged their 24 hours of sobriety. It was a sight to behold and one not soon forgotten. The meeting ended with the traditional holding of hands as the crowd recited the Lord’s Prayer followed by the familiar, “Keep coming  back, it works if you work it,” and then a thunderous ovation.

AA, founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, MD, counts more than two million members worldwide. More than 1,000 meetings are held in Chicago every week. For more information about AA, call the service office at (312) 346-1475 or log on to www.aa.org.

            —Kathy Hills

 

Food pantry gets grant

The St. James Food Pantry at 2907 S. Wabash Ave. has won a $35,000 grant from the Kraft Employee Fund. Christopher Jasensky, representing the Kraft Employee Fund, presented a check to pantry staff members.

            “This is a significant award for our pantry,” said the Rev. Edward Linton, St. James Catholic Church’s pastor. “It recognizes the tremendous work that our parishioners and volunteer workers perform for those in need in our neighborhood. This is the second grant that we have received from the employees of Kraft Food.” 

            Cathy Moore, pantry supervisor, said, “Most of our food inventory comes from donations from three suburban sharing parishes, Catholic Charities, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This grant allows us to make our own food purchases to serve the dietary needs of the special populations we serve. These include families of Asian heritage, homebound seniors, and homeless individuals.”

            The St. James Food Pantry provides food to low income families within its surrounding community. A service mission of St. James Catholic Church, it helps more than 2,000 people each month.

            For more information, call (312) 842-1919.

 

FDR honored

The Museum of Broadcast Communications on July 2 inducted the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt into its Hall of Fame. The event, which was held at the Auditorium Theatre in the South Loop, marked the 75th anniversary of FDR accepting the Democratic Party's 1932 Presidential nomination via a speech broadcast on radio.

            FDR was honored for using radio effectively throughout his Presidency, particularly for "fireside chats" in which he explained news events and governmental policy to the American people.

            Actor Robert Vaughn played FDR and re-enacted Roosevelt's 1932 acceptance speech. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR's granddaughter, accepted the award. Other speakers were master of ceremonies Bruce DuMont from the museum, Cynthia Koch from the FDR Presidential Library, Jonathan Alter from Newsweek, Juan Williams from National Public Radio, David Broder from the Washington Post, Michael Barone from U.S. News and World Report, former Federal Communications Commission head Newton Minow, and Stevenson Swanson from the Chicago Tribune.

            Formerly located in the Harold Washington Library and later in the Chicago Cultural Center, the museum is developing its own facility at State and Kinzie Streets.

 

MOWD expands programs for ex-offenders

The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (MOWD) recently created a transitional job program enabling ex- ffenders to gain work experience through temporary work assignments with several City of Chicago departments. Called Customized Work Services, the new program will add 100 employment opportunities for ex-offenders living in Chicago.

“Every year the Illinois Department of Corrections releases 20,000 ex-offenders to the City of Chicago, which is about half of all ex-offenders released annually in the state,” said David Hanson, MOWD commissioner. “In some cases we’re tapping City departments for work assignments that will help train individuals, and in others we’re looking to assist the growth of for- rofit companies that have a commitment to helping ex-offenders re-enter the community.”

Funded with $702,000 from the City’s corporate budget, the Customized Work Services program provides job training and employment-related support to increase participants’ chances for permanent employment. For more information, call (312) 746-7777 or log on to www.cityofchicago.org/mowd.

Lakeside president chairs China Sister Cities Swinging Shanghai Gala

Raymond Spaeth, Lakeside Bank president and Chinatown Chamber of Commerce board president, chaired the Swinging Shanghai gala on Sept. 6 for the China Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International Program at Maxim’s: The Nancy Goldberg International Center, a replica of the famous Parisian restaurant. The event celebrated Shanghai’s cosmopolitan sophistication as the “Paris of the East” in the 1920s and 1930s and featured a six-course dinner, live music, dancing, entertainment, Chinese culture, and a silent auction. Nearly 150 people packed the sold out event, which raised money for the China Committee.

Established in 1985, the committee builds relationships with Chicago’s two sister cities in China— Shenyang and Shanghai—and works to strengthen partnerships among business, government, cultural, educational, and healthcare institutions in these three cities.

The committee counts more than 70 volunteers and pursues its mission through cultural exchanges, professional dialogues, establishing sister school relationships, and cooperating on public policy and economic development issues. For more information log on to www.chinachicago.com.

Cancer center named for Walter Payton

The family of legendary Chicago Bear Walter Payton came to the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center recently for a kickoff of a different kind.

            Payton’s wife, Connie; their daughter, Brittney; and other members of the family including his mother, Alyne, celebrated the opening of the new Walter Payton Liver Center Sept. 5.

            Designed to offer a comfortable environment for patients and their families, the facility will provide state-of-the-art treatment for diseases within the lower abdominal region, including the liver, kidney, pancreas, and small bowel.

            UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning also welcomed Bruno Pasquinelli of the Pasquinelli Family Foundation, which contributed to the center’s creation.

            Walter Payton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died in 1999 of liver disease at age 45. The Walter and Connie Payton Foundation helps abused, neglected, and underprivileged children through a holiday giving program, back-to-school supply drive, and other efforts.

            At the grand opening, held in UIC’s medicinal plant garden, the Paytons passed commemorative footballs to dignitaries on hand, including Joseph Flaherty, MD, College of Medicine dean; John DeNardo, UIC Medical Center CEO; Enrico Benedetti, MD, professor and head of surgery; and Thomas Layden, MD, professor and head of medicine.

            For more information, call (866) 682-WPLC.

            --Jeanne Galatzer-Levy

 

D’Aprile Realty opens second area office

D’Aprile Realty and Mortgage Services has opened a second location at 927 W. 35th St. in Bridgeport to serve the Tri-Taylor, University Village, South Loop, Bridgeport/Armour Square, McKinley Park, and Bronzeville areas.

D’Aprile’s other office at 2159 W. Madison St. focuses on the West Loop, West Haven, River North, Streeterville, Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Wicker Park, and Lakeview areas.

With more than 200 listings, the company is growing quickly and looking for qualified real estate agents, brokers, and loan officers for either of its offices. “D’Aprile Realty and Mortgage Services is an exciting and dynamic place to work and offers a career and an exciting future for anyone who wants to be involved in the real estate business,” said Ryan D’Aprile.

To learn more, call Ryan D'Aprile  at (312) 492-7900, ext. 4053; log on to www.daprilerealty.com; or stop by one of the firm’s sales centers.

 

UIC wins grant to prepare principals

The University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC’s) Urban Education Leadership program has received a $2.1 million grant through the Eli Broad Foundation to prepare 50 principals for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over the next three years. UIC is the first university the foundation has funded for this effort since making principal training a priority.

The Urban Education Leadership program is part of the UIC College of Education’s doctoral program and is designed to improve student achievement in urban schools by cultivating effective school leaders.

The program’s goal is to “transform school cultures into thriving learning communities for students and teachers,” said Peter Martinez, director of school leadership coaching.

“The Broad grant will enable UIC to support this kind of school transformation through a network of UIC principals who receive intensive coaching,” added Martinez, who co-founded the Ed.D. program with Steve Tozer, its coordinator. “The coaches hired with this grant money will be former CPS principals who have demonstrated that leadership can successfully  focus urban school cultures on student learning,” Martinez said. For more information, call (312)
413-8702.

McGuane swimmers star in two meets

McGuane Park senior swimmers competed in the National Senior Games in Louisville, KY, recently. Ted Erikson won a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly competition as well as three ribbons.

            At an area swim meet held at the Dolphin Pool in Homewood, IL, 12 of the team’s members collected gold medals, and all won bronze, silver, or gold medals.

            Team members are Rowland Arnette, Charles Burger, Michael Casey, Minerva Chavez, Michael Cheung, Ted Erikson, Ann Galvin, Adele Kiel, Josephine Nowak, Gina Santowski, Eva Savolainen, Lynn Scott, Felix Siston, and Patricia Wilkerson. Honorary coach is Victor Dapkus.

            New swimmers age 60 and older are welcome. Call the McGuane Park Pool at (312) 747-7463 or Adele Kiel at (773) 254-0779.