Jerry Davich

Metro columnist

I didn’t expect to hear the first thing Federico Fubini told me when we finally met in Gary after months of email exchanges.

“I’m learning that the cliche of Gary being a third-world place needs, uh, reviewing,” he said with a smile.

Fubini is a 59-year-old journalist, economist and author from Rome, Italy, where he lives with his wife, Xuan, who is Vietnamese. He is an editor-at-large and economics columnist for Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, with an impressive resumé of articles in publications around the world.

“How is it that Gary has become so deteriorated in a country that is so prosperous, especially near such a major city as Chicago?” Fubini asked.

With a notebook on his lap and pen in hand, he asked question after question, each

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