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 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geograp ...

, 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 overc ...

. He served as a public information officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

. He also sent to

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and

Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. It is a public university offering degree programs at the und ...

. He moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and started a steel and tube company. He then moved back to Chicago Heights, Illinois, and started the Vulcan Metal and Tube 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 James Robert Thompson Jr. (May 8, 1936 – August 14, 2020), also known as Big Jim Thompson, was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. A moderate Republican who sometimes took more ...

. 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 the I ...

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, and has been represented by Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019. In November 2017, incumbent Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at ...

. In

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, 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 of county government in Cook County, Illinois. They are the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Office description Officeholders Recent election res ...

. 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, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

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. In ...

, 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 181 ...

, 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 and a south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,718 as of the 2020 census. The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Country Club, originally established ...

.'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 American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople {{Illinois-statesenator-stub