CHICAGO — A Chicago alderman is proposing renaming Columbus Drive to Barack Obama Drive to honor the former president and Chicago-native.

According to the Sun-Times, Ald. Lamont Robinson of the 4th ward introduced an ordinance to rename Columbus Drive to Barak Obama Drive.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Robinson stated the initiative is one way to uplift Black history in Chicago:

“Chicago’s children deserve to see that they too can become Black history & cement a new tourist destination to increase Chicago tourism highlighting where Black history was made.”

However, some Italian American leaders say while Obama is worthy of such an honor, it should not come at the expense of Italian heritage.

President of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA), Ron Onesti said in a released statement, that although Robinson’s proposal of honoring a Chicagoan is commendable, the act is offensive to over 500,000 Italians in Chicago.

“It would be more relevant to rename a portion of South Greenwood Avenue where the Obama residence is, or Stoney Island Avenue where the Barack Obama Presidential Library sits,” he said in the statement.

The proposal must be studied by the council’s Transportation Committee before it can be considered by the full City Council.