J. Michael Houston
| Michael Houston | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Springfield, Illinois | |
|
In office April 29, 2011 – May 7, 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Frank Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Jim Langfelder |
|
In office 1979–1987 |
|
| Preceded by | William Telford |
| Succeeded by | Ossie Langfelder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1944 (age 72–73) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn |
| Alma mater | Illinois State University |
| Occupation | Politician, bank executive |
J. Michael "Mike" Houston (born 1944) was a mayor of Springfield, Illinois. He served as Springfield's mayor from 1979 to 1987 and from 2011 to 2015.
The Houston family originally settled in Sangamon County in 1824. Houston was born in 1944, in Boston, where his father was stationed, in the U.S. Navy. After returning to Springfield following World War II, Houston attended Cathedral Grade School and Griffin High School. After one year at Springfield Junior College, Houston transferred to Illinois State University, where he graduated with a B.S. in business administration. He later completed an M.B.A. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Following undergraduate school, Houston worked for Higbee's in Cleveland, Ohio, and then Cole National Corporation, where he ultimately became the general manager. During this time, he developed a desire to have his own business. While visiting his family back in Springfield, during the Christmas season in 1970, he found an ad for a chain link fence business, up for sale, which he decided to purchase.
In addition to running his business, Houston also served as president of Springfield JayCees (SJC). This was also when he became involved first-hand, with local politics and elections, while advocating for education-related referenda. One of his colleagues from SJC then decided to run for school board, and asked Houston to run his campaign, which fell narrowly short of victory. Houston subsequently assisted with the campaigns of State Senator John Davidson and State Representative J. David Jones, both of whom were also past presidents of SJC.
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