Born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, DeAngelis graduated from Bloom High School.
He then moved back to Chicago Heights, Illinois, and started the Vulcan Tube and Metals Company.
In the Republican primary, DeAngelis defeated State Representative Thomas Miller, the preferred candidate of Governor James R. Thompson.
After a quick turnaround between swearing in and resignation, former mayor of Homewood Robert T. Gooley was sworn in as DeAngelis's successor on the county board.
[4] In the 1996 general election, Democratic candidate Debbie Halvorson, the Crete Township Clerk, defeated DeAngelis.