John A. Roche served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 (1887–1889) for the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. He was elected as 30th mayor, 39th term (due to multiple terms of other mayors.) He was born in Utica New York, and served as an apprentice to his brother for three years. He stayed in business for a long time, and had but a high school education. He was a firm believer in education and mentions this in his inaugural address.

Move to Chicago

In 1869, he moved to Chicago to do business. He loved it, and decided to become a candidate for the Republican Party. He was won against the democratic candidate, Robert L. Nelson. People admired him for his assertive and straightforward nature and history of business. As a mayor, he was prominent for the drainage and water supply commission and being appointed to suppress gambling in saloons as well as closing disreputable ones.

Retirement

After retiring, he focused his attention once again on business, and became manager and vice president of the Crane Elevator Company. In 1893 he was elected president of the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Company. He then died on February 10 one hour after a meeting from uremic poisoning.