Myron J. Olson (June 24, 1928 - January 25, 1992) was a Republican member of 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 constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from his appointment on September 22, 1981, to his death on January 25, 1992.

Biography

Myron J. Olson was born June 24, 1928, in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

. He was raised in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

at age 18 where he served in the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

and was stationed in post-World War II Japan. He was honorably discharged at the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. At age 24, he was a campaign aide for Melvin Laird's successful campaign in

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

. He moved to

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...

, in 1956 to become a salesman for

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

. He was civically active in Dixon as a member of the Dixon Water Board, including two years as its President, and as a member of the Lee County Republican Party. In 1976, he was elected the Circuit Clerk of Lee County. On September 22, 1981, he was appointed to the

to succeed

Calvin W. Schuneman Calvin Wayne Schuneman (born May 7, 1926) is an American politician. Life and career Born in Manlius, Illinois, Schuneman went to Bradley University. He owned an insurance business. Schuneman served in the Illinois House of Representatives as a ...

upon the latter's appointment to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

. At that time, the multi-member district consisted of

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

and

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counties and portions of DeKalb,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Ogle Ogle may refer to: Places * Ogle County, Illinois, United States * Original name of Ashton, Illinois, a village * Ogle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Ogle Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States * Ogle, ...

, and Whiteside counties. After the

Cutback Amendment The Cutback Amendment (formally named the "Size of State House of Representatives Amendment"; and also known as both "Amendment 1" and the "Legislative Article") is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that abolished multi-member districts i ...

, he was redistricted from the 37th district to the 70th district which included Lee and Ogle counties. He was elected to the new district unopposed. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Deputy Minority Leader under Lee A. Daniels. He sponsored a resolution requesting that

Fay Vincent Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent Jr. (May 29, 1938 – February 1, 2025) was an American entertainment lawyer, securities regulator, and sports executive who served as the eighth commissioner of baseball from September 13, 1989, to September 7, 199 ...

, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball at the time, review the case of

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century. His .356 career batting average ...

and his alleged role in the

Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a match fixing, game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for p ...

in the hopes of vindicating Jackson. Olson had a heart attack while shoveling snow and died at Shaw Bathea Hospital on Saturday, January 25, 1992. David Deets, a physician from Dixon, was appointed to succeed him in the Illinois House and as a candidate in the new 73rd district. Deets lost by 378 votes to Democratic attorney Pennie Von Bergen Wessels of

Sterling, Illinois Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States, along the Rock River. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the city has long been associate ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Myron 1928 births 1992 deaths Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Military personnel from Illinois Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Dixon, Illinois Politicians from Wausau, Wisconsin 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly