Peter A. Tomei papers on the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention, 1962-1971

This collection is open for research use.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Gift of Peter Tomei M1971.0035.

Peter A. Tomei papers on the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Correspondence, research materials, meeting minutes and notes, newspaper clippings, and other papers of Peter Tomei, a Chicago delegate to the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention (also known as Con Con). Materials from the years preceding the Constitutional Convention relate to Tomei's delegate election campaign and work to promote an Illinois constitutional convention. Materials from the Constitutional Convention include the Journal of the Constitutional Convention; literature distributed to convention delegates; and correspondence, meeting minutes, worksheets, research materials, and other papers of convention committees, particularly the Committee on Suffrage and Constitution Amending, of which Tomei was chairman. Also present are materials related to the constitutional referendum, held on December 15, 1970. Six scrapbooks document the Constitutional Convention and Tomei's involvement.

Peter Andrew Tomei (1934-1971), a Chicago lawyer, was a delegate to the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention (also known as Con Con), where he served as chairman of the Committee on Suffrage and Constitution Amending. Tomei graduated from Harvard Law School in 1959 and was a member of the bars of Illinois and the District of Columbia. He was an associate in the Chicago firm of Isham, Lincoln and Beale. In the years preceding the Constitutional Convention, Tomei served in several organizations dedicated to campaigning for a constitutional convention and chaired the Committee on Constitutional Revision of the Chicago Bar Association. The first candidate from Chicago to enter the race for constitutional convention delegate, Tomei ran as an independent and was a vocal proponent of non-partisanship. Tomei died from a heart attack in 1971, at the age of 36.

Related collections at the Chicago History Museum include the Bernard Weisberg papers and published items about the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention, cataloged separately.

• Names
  • Tomei, Peter A. (Peter Andrew)--1934-1971--Archives
  • Illinois. Constitution (1970)
  • Illinois. Constitutional Convention (1969-1970)
• Subject
  • Constitutional conventions -- Illinois -- 20th century
  • Constitutional law -- Illinois -- 20th century
  • Law reform -- Illinois -- 20th century
• Geographic CoverageIllinois -- Politics and government -- 20th century

The collection is arranged in six series.

Series 1. General materials, 1966-1970 and undated; (box 1-3, 16)

Series 1 consists of correspondence, pamphlets, memoranda, newsletters, notes, and other papers related to Tomei's delegate election campaign, the Constitutional Convention, and the constitutional referendum. Included are materials distributed to convention delegates, such as committee agendas, memoranda, and policies; brochures about the Constitutional Convention; and the Journal of the Constitutional Convention (3 v.). Also present is an undated letter sent after Tomei's death, soliciting contributions to a trust fund established for Tomei's children.

Series 2. Committee on Suffrage and Constitution Amending, 1969-1970 (box 4-6, oversize folder)

Series 2 consists of meeting minutes, worksheets, correspondence, and research materials of the Committee on Suffrage and Constitution Amending. Subjects include the article on amending the constitution and lowering the voting age to 18. Also included are ten slides depicting Tomei and other committee members at work and an oversize cardboard plaque bearing Tomei's name.

Series 3. Constitutional articles and provisions, 1962-1970 (box 7-11)

Series 3 consists of correspondence and research materials about constitutional articles and provisions that did not fall within the purview of the Committee on Suffrage and Constitution Amending. Materials relate to the Bill of Rights; the education, revenue, executive, legislative, and judicial articles; and commerce and local government provisions.

Series 4. Constitutional Convention organizations, 1967-1970 (box 12)

Series 4 contains correspondence, newsletters, and other organizational files from the Northside Citizens Committee for a Constitutional Convention, the Illinois Committee for a Constitutional Convention, and the Constitutional Convention Information Service. Also included are articles about the Constitutional Convention written by University of Illinois journalism students.

Series 5. Correspondence, 1969-1971 (box 13-15)

Series 5 contains correspondence between Tomei and supporters of his delegate election campaign, as well as correspondence with the press, advocacy groups, and private citizens about the Constitutional Convention, constitutional provisions, and the constitutional referendum.

Series 6. Scrapbooks, 1966-1970 (6 volumes)

Series 6 consists of six scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings about the Constitutional Convention. Clippings document the period from the campaign for a constitutional convention to after the constitutional referendum. Also present are clippings of Tomei's monthly convention reports, as well as referendum campaign literature.