Roland Victor Libonati (December 29, 1897 – May 30, 1991) was a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. Libonati was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the son of Ernest and Flora (née Pellettieri) Libonati. He earned an

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

degree from the

Lewis Institute Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has pro ...

in 1918. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served as a lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. After the war, Libonati returned to school, graduating from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1921 and from the

Northwestern University Law School Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree in 1924. Libonati was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1924 and commenced law practice in Chicago. He was the founder and owner of the American Boys' Camp for indigent children at

Coloma, Wisconsin Coloma is a village in Waushara County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 450 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Coloma. Coloma is home of the annual Coloma Chicken Chew, held at the end of June. History ...

, and, infamously, was also lawyer to

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

. He married Jeannette Van Hanxleden in 1942, and they had one son, Michael. He served as a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1930 to 1934 from 1940 to 1942, and the

Illinois 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 1942 to 1947. He served as delegate to every state Democratic convention from 1942 to 1987. Libonati was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

James B. Bowler James Bernard Bowler (February 5, 1875 – July 18, 1957) was an American politician from Chicago, Illinois. He served three terms as a United States Representative for Illinois. Elected at age 78, Bowler is the second oldest person to win his ...

. He was reelected to the Eighty-sixth, Eighty-seventh, and the Eighty-eighth Congresses (December 31, 1957 – January 3, 1965). According to

Todd S. Purdum Todd Stanley Purdum (born December 13, 1959) is an American journalist who works as a national editor and political correspondent for '' Vanity Fair''. Early life and education Purdum is a son of Jerry S. Purdum, a Macomb, Illinois insurance bro ...

's ''An Idea Whose Time Has Come'', Libonati's political career ended as a result of his votes during the drafting of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration req ...

. Libonati had been a reliable ally of

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been ca ...

Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) si ...

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership co ...

. During the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, ...

markup on the civil rights bill, he reneged on agreements with Chairman

Emanuel Celler Emanuel Celler (May 6, 1888 – January 15, 1981) was an American politician from New York who served in the United States House of Representatives for almost 50 years, from March 1923 to January 1973. He served as the dean of the United States Ho ...

and President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, who had asked him to help weaken the bill in order to ensure it could win Republican support and pass a Senate

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

. Libonati instead voted with liberal colleagues who wanted to maintain the bill's stronger provisions, even though Kennedy had spoken to Daley directly to complain about his behavior. In a private conversation with a colleague shortly after the vote, Libonati said he had received a call from the Daley machine indicating that his political career was over. Libonati was not a candidate for renomination to the Eighty-ninth Congress in 1964. Following his political career, he resumed the practice of law. He was a resident of Chicago until his death on May 30, 1991. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libonati, Roland Victor 1897 births 1991 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Politicians from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois University of Michigan alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party Illinois state senators United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois)