Homer Marx Butler (October 15, 1904 – May 24, 1982) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, and politician. Born in

Marion, Illinois Marion is a city in Williamson and Johnson Counties, Illinois, United States, and is the county seat of Williamson County. The population was 16,855 at the 2020 census. It is part of a dispersed urban area that developed out of the early 20th ...

, Butler graduated from Marion High School in 1923. He went to

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...

and the

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

. Butler worked as a reporter and editor for the Marion Daily Republican newspaper in Marion, Illinois. He served on the Marion Board of Education and the Marion City Council. He was elected to 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 the 50th district in the 1944 general election. In the 1950 general election, Butler returned to the Illinois House of Representatives in the 67th General Assembly before once more serving in the Illinois Senate in the 1952 general election. In the 1956 general election, Democratic candidate William Grindle defeated Butler for reelection. Butler then served again in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1959 to 1963. He was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Butler died at Marion Memorial Hospital in Marion. His son Robert L. Butler served as mayor of Marion, Illinois for over fifty years.'Homer Butler Obituary,' Marion Daily Republican, May 26, 1982

Notes

1904 births 1982 deaths People from Marion, Illinois Illinois College alumni Editors of Illinois newspapers Illinois city council members School board members in Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party Illinois state senators 20th-century American politicians Journalists from Illinois Southern Illinois University alumni 20th-century American journalists American male journalists {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub