The Springfield Sons & Daughters of Italy celebrated Columbus Day in the south end of Springfield Monday morning.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation to recognize Oct. 14 as Columbus Day in honor of the 15th century explorer.

Peeylair Caffie experienced something that is becoming more common, catching a northern pike while salmon fishing on the Chicago lakefront; and he earns Fish of the Week. Highlights of the 12-day event include deep dives into immigration, incarceration and women’s subjugation.

In Rhode Island, Italian American roots run deep, and the annual Christopher Columbus Festival in its capital city is one of New England’s largest. But the festivities all but ignored the controversy around Columbus to focus on Italian heritage and culture.

Thousands of Chicagoans gathered in the Loop on Monday for the city’s 72nd annual Columbus Day parade. The celebration of Italian American heritage featured floats, marching bands, singers, and dancers descending State Street.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made Columbus Day a federal holiday at the urging of prominent Italian American leaders, such as Generoso Pope in New York City, and Catholic lobbying groups, such as the Knights of Columbus. And so Columbus Day became an official holiday on the American calendar.

Those honorees include Giuseppe Polimeni, who defrauded a Springfield-run job training school; Mario Fiore, a M afia associate collared in a dragnet for running numbers; and Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas J.

New York City was the Palermo of America on Monday, as Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and other luminaries marched up Fifth Avenue.