We the Italians October 3, 2014 - 44 | Page 28

Interview: Adriano Monti

Our work is therefore complex; it is not only to provide high standard services but also to ensure that people are able to perceive a friendly institution government and up with the times: not an easy mission in the current climate of tight resources.

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How is the presence of the Italian American community in Chicago?

The Italian community in Chicago consists of approximately 14,000 compatriots with the right to have an Italian passport and registered in the AIRE. However, the Italian American component is obviouslymuch more numerous: in the State of Illinois the census says that they are nearly 800,000, and almost 1,500,000 in our whole consular district. Among the "Italians" one can identify two different groups: the first consists essentially of those belonging to the last wave of our emigration in the years immediately following the Second World War (the regions of origin are mainly Calabria, Sicily and Puglia); the second, however, which is a constantly growing phenomenon, is composed by fellow younger expatriates who recently arrived here.