Former Illinois Rep. Frank Annunzio, who represented Chicago in Washington for 28 years, died Sunday. A Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 1965 to 1993, Annunzio was a shoeshine boy, high school teacher and labor leader before being elected to Congress. In 1989, Annunzio urged credit card holders to cut up or burn their cards in an effort to try to force down interest rates. Recently, Annunzio lent his name to a campaign against the HBO series The Sopranos. "The congressman tried to make everyone aware of the positive aspects of the Italian-American community, and was puzzled and chagrined by the ceaseless efforts to depict us as wanton criminals," family spokesman Dominic DiFrisco said.
Passage, Frank Annunzio, 86
Former Illinois Rep. Frank Annunzio, who represented Chicago in Washington for 28 years, died Sunday. A Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 1965 to 1993, Annunzio was a shoeshine boy, high school teacher and labor leader before being elected to Congress. In 1989, Annunzio urged credit card holders to cut up or burn their cards in an effort to try to force down interest rates. Recently, Annunzio lent his name to a campaign against the HBO series The Sopranos. "The congressman tried to make everyone aware of the positive aspects of the Italian-American community, and was puzzled and chagrined by the ceaseless efforts to depict us as wanton criminals," family spokesman Dominic DiFrisco said.
