[4][2][5] He graduated from Waukegan Township High School and served with the Coast Guard during World War II.
[2] During this time he was often compared to Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley for a style of running the city that relied heavily on personal patronage.
[2] Early on in his career, Sabonjian received the ire of the Democratic party and the title of "maverick" for appointing Republicans to city jobs.
[8] In 1966, he played a controversial role in the city's unrest, during which he dismissed those involved as "junkheads and winos" and moreover blamed the NAACP.
[9][10] He was initially affiliated with the Democratic Party, and ran a write-in campaign for United States Senate in 1966 against Paul Douglas and Charles Percy.
[13] As a supporter of businesses, Sabonjian attacked any suggestion that industry in Waukegan caused pollution, insisting, for example, that there was "no proof that PCBs were harmful.
"[9] After he was returned to the mayoral office, Sabonjian made headlines by firing Waukegan's environmental inspector and finance director, who were hired under Morris's administration.
[2] He was survived by his wife Lorene, his daughter Dana, and his son Robert Jr.[2] City buildings lowered flags to half staff in his memory.
A portion of Madison Street was renamed Robert V. Sabonjian Place, and both City Hall and the Police Department are located there.