Forest D. Etheredge (October 21, 1929 – June 26, 2004) was an American educator and politician who served as a Republican member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1981 to 1993.

Biography

Etheredge was born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He moved with his family to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Etheredge graduated from

Sullivan High School Sullivan High School is a public high school located in Sullivan, Indiana. SHS is one of three high schools in Sullivan County (the other two being North Central High School in Farmersburg and Union High School in Dugger). Sullivan High S ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in geology from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. Etheredge received his master's degree from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and his doctorate from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. He also studied at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In 1965, he left his position at

City Colleges of Chicago The City Colleges of Chicago is the public community college system of the Chicago area. Its colleges offer associate degrees, certificates, free courses for the GED, and free English as a second language (ESL) courses. The City Colleges system ...

to establish Rock Valley College. He would go on to be the first president of

McHenry County College McHenry County College (MCC) is a public community college in McHenry County, Illinois. The college serves residents residing in Community College District 528, which covers most of McHenry County and portions of surrounding counties. The colle ...

and then a president at Waubonsee Community College. In 1980, Etheridge defeated incumbent

Robert Mitchler Robert Walter Mitchler (June 4, 1920 – April 19, 2012) was an American politician and businessman. Born in Aurora, Illinois, Mitchler went to the Aurora public schools. He served in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean ...

in the Republican primary. Etheridge served in the

from 1981 to 1993. Etheredge chose not to run for reelection in the 1992 election. Republican Chris Lauzen, an accountant and member of the Kane County Building Commission, was elected to succeed Etheredge. After his retirement from the Illinois Senate, Etheredge taught at

Aurora University Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois. In addition to its main campus and the Orchard Center in Aurora, AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, and at the Woodsto ...

. Etheredge died from cancer at his home in Aurora, Illinois.

References

1929 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Dallas People from Aurora, Illinois Virginia Tech alumni Northwestern University alumni University of Illinois alumni Loyola University Chicago alumni Educators from Illinois Republican Party Illinois state senators Deaths from cancer in Illinois Educators from Texas 20th-century American politicians {{Texas-bio-stub