Aldo A. DeAngelis (March 13, 1931 – February 13, 2004) was an American politician and businessman. Born in

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...

, DeAngelis graduated from

Bloom High School Bloom High School is a public school in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. The school was founded in 1900. A second Chicago Heights high school, Bloom Trail, was established in 1976 to offset ove ...

. He served as a public information officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1954 to 1956. DeAngelis graduated from Knox College in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal cit ...

. He also went to

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and

Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State, GSU, GovState, or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois, United States. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GovState was founded in 1969. It is a public universi ...

. He moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and started a steel and tube company. He then moved back to Chicago Heights, Illinois, and started the Vulcan Tube and Metals Company. DeAngelis ran for Illinois Senate in the 1978 general election. In the Republican primary, DeAngelis defeated State Representative Thomas Miller, the preferred candidate of Governor James R. Thompson. In the general election, DeAngelis defeated Democratic incumbent Robert Lane. He served in the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

from 1979 to 1997. DeAngelis then sold his business. During the 1990s, DeAngelis served as a member of the Illinois Republican Party Central Committee from

Illinois's 4th congressional district The 4th congressional district of Illinois includes part of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, and has been represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019. The previous version of the distric ...

. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, he was the Republican nominee for

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners The President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of county government in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois. They are the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The presi ...

. While he lost that election, he was elected a member of the

Cook County Board of Commissioners The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which includes the City ...

in the coinciding election for the board's members. After a quick turnaround between swearing in and resignation, former mayor of Homewood Robert T. Gooley was sworn in as DeAngelis's successor on the county board. In the 1996 general election, Democratic candidate

Debbie Halvorson Deborah L. Halvorson (born March 1, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. Previously, she served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 through 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. ...

, the Crete Township Clerk, defeated DeAngelis. After DeAngelis left the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

, DeAngelis worked as a lobbyist and consultant. DeAngelis died of a heart attack at his home in

Olympia Fields, Illinois Olympia Fields is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,718 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a southern suburb of Chicago. The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Coun ...

.'Aldo Deangelis, 72, Longtime leading GOP legislator,' Chicago Tribune, Stanley Ziemba, Barbara Sherlock, William Persecky, Chicago Tribune, February 14, 2004

Notes

1931 births 2004 deaths People from Chicago Heights, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Governors State University alumni University of Chicago alumni Knox College (Illinois) alumni Businesspeople from Illinois Republican Party Illinois state senators 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly 20th-century American businesspeople Bloom High School alumni {{Illinois-statesenator-stub