Lottie Holman was born in Barry, Illinois in November of 1978. She met and married Joseph O’Neill in Chicago after college, and the couple moved to Downers Grove in 1904. There Lottie launched her political career based on the fundamental principle of democracy that all people should be represented.

She became the state representative for the 41st District in 1923. O’Neill served in the House from 1923-1931 and from 1933-1951. She then served as a state senator from 1951-1964.

She ran for U.S. Senate in 1931 and represented the Illinois GOP at the 1944 Republican National Convention.

O’Neill passed away in her Downers Grove home on February 17, 1967. She is buried at Oak Crest Cemetery in Downers Grove, and a statue commemorating her 38 years in the Illinois General Assembly was erected in the Capitol rotunda in Springfield in 1976.