Chicago parade to make a comeback?

There's the Southie parade in Boston and there is, or at least was, the South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago.

The latter was put on ice a couple of years ago after it attracted huge crowds and resulted in their being dozens of arrests for disorderly behavior and in one case aggravated battery of a police officer.

Now locals are considering reviving an event that was worthy of inclusion in the widely sold "Images of America" book series.

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About 50 people from the area recently met to discuss how to resurrect a more sober and orderly version of the parade which marched along Chicago's Western Avenue.

"After the last parade, the South Side Irish Parade Committee decided in a 12-9 split vote to pull the plug on the Mardi Gras-like event," the Chicago Sun Times reported.

According to the daily, James "Skinny" Sheahan, presided over what was described as a "public airing of feelings" aimed at brainstorming ideas for the parade's successful "one-year trial" return in 2012.

 

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