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Columbus Day Parade To Take Over State Street Monday Afternoon

 Floats at the 2012 Columbus Day Parade.
Floats at the 2012 Columbus Day Parade.
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DNAinfo/Lizzie Schiffman Tufano

DOWNTOWN — Chicago's annual Columbus Day parade will march down State Street from Lake to Van Buren streets starting at 12:30 p.m. Monday, led by Italian-American community leaders and city officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

This year's parade theme celebrates Italian individuals and cities that acted bravely to save lives during the Holocaust. Until Italy was invaded by the Nazis in 1943, the country famously refused to hand over any Jews to Nazis forces.

The parade returns to State Street this year after several years on Columbus Drive.

This year's parade officials include chairman: Giovanni Gullo, president of Gullo International Development Corporation; honorary grand marshal: Lt. Col. Roberto Ruffolo, chief operations officer of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Italy; honorary parade marshal: Francis Ferrone, president of the American Sightseeing Bus Company; and grand marshal: John Coli, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

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