White and red text on red, white, and blue striped background. 

This button was produced to support Robert "Bob" Bily for Illinois' 8th District in the 1976 election. Unfortunately, Bily only captured 14% of the vote, losing to his like-minded opponent, Democrat Harry "Bus" Yourell. Upon his retirement in 1985 after a successful career in business, Joseph Robert Bily moved to Arlington, Texas. Bily died there in 2005 at the age of 82.

Photograph of Lou Mirabelli smiling in black suit and tie. Blue and black text on white background.

This button refers to Lou Mirabelli's campaign for Worth Township Republican Committeeman. Lou MIrabelli of Oak Lawn, IL challenged Ronald Larson Mirabelli, also of Oak Lawn, for the position. Prior to running for Committeeman, Lou Mirabelli was prominent in the Worth Township Republican Organization and served as co-chairman of the Homeowners Caucus. Mirabelli cited four main reasons for entering the political arena, the most pressing being to help repair the image of the Republican Party. Many grassroots Republican candidates like Miarbelli took this stance in response to the 1972 Watergate scandal involving Republican president Richard M. Nixon. The Miarabelli campaign was managed by local civic activist Jane Barnes (who held the Committeeman post at one point) and former mayor Tom Powell. 

Silver star-shaped sheriff badge with blue text. 

Richard J. Elrod served as Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois from 1970 to 1986.  Elrod’s term as Sheriff came to an end after a federal investigation into police department corruption, known as Operation Safe Bet, exposed large-scale protection and bribery between Cook County police officers and numerous strip clubs, bookmakers, and prostitution houses. After the investigation, in which two veteran officers were convicted on 18 counts of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, and income tax fraud, Elrod’s re-election bid was struck down by republican James E. O'Grady.

Black smiley face and black text on bright orange background.

This button is urging voters to support Robert "Bob" Bily for the Illinois' 8th District seat in the 1976 election. Unfortunately, "Bob" only captured 14% of the vote, losing to his like-minded opponent, Democrat Harry "Bus" Yourell, along with Republicans Jane M. Barnes and Herbert V. Huskey.  
 
Upon his retirement in 1985 after a successful career in business, Joseph Robert "Bob" Bily moved to Arlington, Texas. "Bob" died there at the age of 82 in 2005.

This button is a variation on the classic yellow smiley face that is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

Overlapping capital red letters spelling TAFT is written across a white background. The top of the letter characters has sharp points facing downward.

Senator Robert Alphonso Taft, son of President William Howard Taft, was a three term Republican US Senator from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was known for being financially conservative, but his opposition to prohibition, the Ku Klux Klan, and World War II cost him some political support. He sought the presidential office three times, but lost his final GOP presidential nomination to President Eisenhower in 1952. Taft became majority leader in the Senate in 1953 but soon after died from cancer.

Black and white head shot photograph of William Jennings Bryan wearing a bow tie.  Blue background with white stars on upper rim with red and white stripes on edges and bottom of rim, resembling the American flag.

William Jennings Bryan was born March 19, 1860 in Salem, IL and died July 26, 1925 in Dayton, TN.  He ran for president three times unsuccessfully—he lost to William McKinley in 1896 and 1900, and then to William Howard Taft in 1908. Bryan was regarded as a gifted debater and was also known for supporting reforms such as popular election of senators, income tax, creation of a Department of Labor, Prohibition, and womens suffrage. Towards the end of his life, Bryan became involved in the famous Scopes Trial in July 1925. Bryan firmly believed in a literal interpretation of the Bible and assisted in the prosecution of a schoolteacher who was accused of teaching Darwinism.

Photographs of McKinley and Roosevelt are next to one another on a white background with a gold circular border.  Above and behind the portraits is an illustration of a red, white, and blue bow on a gold background.

President William McKinley was elected as the 25th president of the United States in 1896. He then won a second term in 1900 with a new running mate, Vice President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. McKinley was assassinated just months after he was sworn in to office for the second time, and Roosevelt became the 26th president on September 14, 1901. McKinley is remembered for leading the country to victory in the Spanish-American war. 

Purple text centered on button with white background. Blue text on white background on top and bottom of button.

Group Health Cooperatives's 40th anniversary took place in 1985. Based in Seattle, Washington, this private non-profit organization was founded in 1946 by activists who were involved in the farmers' grange movement, union movement, and consumer cooperative movement. The organization sought to provide consumers with affordable, preventative medicine by means of cooperative ownership. Despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health Cooperative became the nation's first consumer-directed healthcare organization.

Yellow text on maroon background. Yellow illustration of two mustangs running side-by-side in the center of the button.

This particular vintage button would surely evoke a sense of pride for whomever attended Mundelein High School in years past. Mundelein, a northern suburb of Chicago, is often referred to as 'Mustang Country.' The official name of MHS's mascot is 'Maverick the Mustang.'

White text on green background.

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