Meet Your Congressman

"Hello, Congressman!" boomed a hanger-on as pudgy, pop-eyed Chicago Politico Roland V. Libonati strolled into his office.

"Oh, now, we gotta have the election first," said Libonati in mock protest.

His cronies guffawed, and Libonati broke into a broad grin at the joke. That was last August, and he well knew that when the Democratic ward bosses of Chicago's seamy, machine-run Seventh Congressional District tabbed him as their man, he was as good as elected.

Last week "Libby" Libonati, 56, criminal lawyer ("never got a death penalty, thank God!") and longtime state senator, ran unopposed in the Seventh District's Democratic primary, and so became the party's official nominee for the seat left vacant by the death of Octogenarian James B. Bowler. Barring a miracle, Libonati will win the special election on Dec. 31, and take his place in Congress as a maker of the nation's laws.

Libby will bring to Capitol Hill a longtime friendship with the racketeers who lurk in the background of the West Side's ward politics. A pal of the late underworld overlord Al Capone, Libonati is still on chummy terms with former Capone henchmen such as Tony Accardo and Paul ("the Waiter") Ricca, who are really "charitable" and "patriotic" fellows, according to Libby. During his two decades in the state legislature, Libby opposed legislation urged by the Chicago Crime Commission, backed bills that gamblers also liked. One piece of legislation paid off nicely: after Libby helped put through a bill authorizing harness racing at Sportsman's Park, it developed that he and his wife had picked up 200 shares of racing-syndicate stock at the insider's price of 10¢ share. Says Libby: "I wish I'd bought more. I think the last dividend was about $150."

Libby will also bring to the U.S. Congress a flair for unintentional comedy. Dubbed "Mr. Malaprop" by the Chicago press, he refers to voters of Slavic ancestry as "Slavishes," once spoke of late autumn as the time of year when "the moss is on the pumpkin." Last week, asked why he had been keeping comparatively quiet since the primary, Libby replied: "I am trying not to make any honest mistakes."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.