Joseph Raymond Callahan (May 30, 1892 – July 31, 1977) was an American farmer, businessman, and politician.
Biography
Callahan was born on a farm near
Milford, Illinois in
Iroquois County, Illinois. He graduated from the Mitford Township High School in 1912 and served in the
United States Army during
World War I. Callahan was a farmer; he also raised cattle and hogs. He served as president of the Illinois Farmers Union.
Callahan was involved with the
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and served as the Chairman of the Iroquois County Democrats for twenty years.
In the 1948 Democratic primary, Callahan nearly lost his position with the county party as a precinct committeeman after allowing a black family to hunt on his land.
Due to partisan gridlock during the 1961 decennial redistricting, the
Illinois Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
ordered an at large election for all 177 members of the Illinois House in 1964. Voters were given ballots three feet long. Callahan was one of the 177 members elected in the subsequent statewide election. He served 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 1965 to 1967. During his term he served was assigned to the Committee on Agriculture; the Committee on Industry and Labor; and the Committee on Public Utilities, Railroads & Aviation.
John P. Touhy, as
Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, appointed Callahan to the Water Resource Management Commission. In 1965, a map was drawn which placed Callahan and longtime Democratic incumbent
Joe W. Russell of
Piper City. The 42nd district included all of
Kankakee,
Iroquois,
Ford, and
Grundy counties as well as southwestern
Will County. Callahan did not run in the 1966 general election. Republicans
James R. Washburn
James R. Washburn (April 25, 1921 – August 8, 2007) was an American politician.
Biography
Washburn was born in Morris, Illinois on April 25, 1921. During World War II he served as a pilot in the United States Marine Corps. He went to Nor ...
and
Thomas R. Houde, and Democrat
Joe W. Russell won the 42nd district's three seats.
Callahan died at the Iroquois Memorial Hospital in
Watseka, Illinois.
Family
One of his sons, Gene Callhan, was a political staffer to several Illinois Democrats before becoming a lobbyist for
Major League Baseball.
Callahan's granddaughter
Cheri Bustos served in the
United States House of Representatives. Another granddaughter
Colleen Callahan is the Director of the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Our Campaigns.com.-Colleen Callahan
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Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Joseph R.
1892 births
1977 deaths
People from Milford, Illinois
Military personnel from Illinois
Businesspeople from Illinois
Farmers from Illinois
Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American businesspeople