Black smiley face and black text on bright red 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.

Blue photograph of Petrozza's face with blue text on white background.

This is a campaign button for John Petrozza, who served as the Oak Park, IL village trustee from 1979 to 1983. A Chicago Tribune article states that in 1989 the homes of Petrozza and his son John Petrozza Jr. were seized by the U.S. Marshal after the government alleged they were being used for illegal drug trafficking in connection with a local cocaine drug ring. 

White text on purple background. 

Anthony Vacco's ran a campaign to become Senator of Illinois in 1978. Vacco served as Mayor of Evergreen Park, a suburb of Chicago, for twenty years prior to running for the Senate. Before becoming Mayor, he served as Zoning Board Chairman and Village Trustee in the southwest suburb. In addition to being Mayor, Vacco was the President of the Illinois Municipal League. Vacco's entire campaign was in response to redistricting, which took nearly all representation away from Evergreen Park. While Vacco would eventually lose the race, his fight to have laws equally applied in Chicago and the rest of the state would continue. Mayor Vacco passed away in 2002 at age 77, after 32 years of service.

Red and blue text on white backgound.

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.

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.