Robert U. Dini , University of Chicago-trained lawyer, and Michael Polelle, a professor at John Marshall Law School et al formed the American Italian Defense Association (IADA), and  filed a lawsuit asking for a jury to censure "The Sopranos." alleging the HBO series violated the Illinois Constitution, which condemns the portrayal of any ethnic group as depraved criminals.

The case was dismissed (erroneously I believe), BUT it struck a chord with Italian Americans tired of seeing their people depicted as gangsters, and lauched suceesive battles by IA Major Organizations whenever Italian Americans were Negatively depicted.

Dini, growing up with an obvious Italian last name, had to endure the never ending questioning by strangers of whether he was in the mob. His father Umberto told him how invariably he would get in long lines, to get day labor, only to hear: "'We've already given enough jobs to Italians today.'" He kept as a momento the Apartment Lease  from the year he was born. "A part of the lease said they would not rent to black people and Italians," 
 

University of Chicago-trained lawyer Robert U. Dini was as far from Tony Soprano as a man can get.
He was smart and studious. He was devoted to his family. He was dignified. Even close friends called him "Robert" -- never Bob.

Robert U. Dini practiced law in Winnetka for 40 years and ran a security firm with his son. 
 

But Mr. Dini had to deal with stereotyping because of the vowel at the end of his name -- such as enduring questions from strangers who asked if he was in the mob. 

By 2001, he'd had enough. He joined other Italian-American lawyers in filing a lawsuit asking for a jury to censure "The Sopranos." They alleged the HBO series violated the Illinois Constitution, which condemns the portrayal of any ethnic group as depraved criminals.

The case was dismissed, but not before it struck a chord with Italian Americans tired of seeing their people depicted as gangsters.

Mr. Dini, 72, died Sept. 1 of a heart ailment at his Lincolnshire home. 

"He was one of the brain trust" in crafting the suit by the American Italian Defense Association, said Michael Polelle, a professor at John Marshall Law School who helped file it.

"We wanted Italian Americans reflected as positive role models, and for far too long, that hadn't happened," said another participant, attorney Enrico Mirabelli. "It was people like Robert Dini who took up the cause."

Mr. Dini grew up in Winnetka, the only child of Umberto and Ida Dini, immigrants from Lucca, Tuscany. Umberto told his son and grandchildren about the times he waited in line in the United States to get day labor, only to hear: "'We've already given enough jobs to Italians today.'"

Mr. Dini always kept an apartment lease he found from the year he was born. "There's a part of the lease that said they would not rent to black people and Italians," said his daughter Laura Dini. "He had that framed, and said, 'This is so we remember.' "

The family eventually operated Dini's Sweet Shop, a Winnetka restaurant of the 1930s and 1940s.

In junior high, Mr. Dini contracted polio, the dreaded disease that ravaged so many children of the era. "When he was in the hospital, he was not in the iron lung, but he could hear the sound of the machines and it frightened him," said his son John. "He didn't know if he was going to end up in one."

He graduated from New Trier High and earned a bachelor's degree in the Great Books program at the University of Notre Dame. He received a full scholarship -- but turned it down.

He told his children: " 'I am an only child. I knew at that point my parents could afford to pay for me to go to school, and it was important to me that someone else who needed that scholarship should have it.' "

He obtained a law degree from the University of Chicago, clerked for Judge Hugo Friend, and hung out his own shingle in Winnetka, where he practiced for 40 years.

Sundays were sacrosanct: they were for family. The Dinis gathered together, and there was always room for one more at their table. They learned Italian traditions like La Befana, the gift-bearing Epiphany witch.

Mr. Dini and his son also operated a security firm, Electronic Entry Systems. He served as president of the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Lions Club. He donated to organizations including Hales Franciscan High School and Little Brothers of the Poor.

"He wasn't a CEO of a billion-dollar company. He wasn't a bigwig. He was a gentle man, trying to make a difference," said his daughter Jennifer Dini Michalak.

Mr. Dini is also survived by the mother of his children, his ex-wife Julie. A second marriage ended in divorce. He was "nonno'' to four grandchildren.      

Maureen O'Donnell....  modonnell@suntimes.com 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/
2693004,CST-NWS-xdini10.article#
 

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