Joseph P. Hannon

Joseph Perrault Hannon (September 24, 1932 – August 9, 2019) was an American educator and administrator who served as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools from August 1975 to November 1979. He was later was CEO of the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition Authority, executive director of the Illinois Export Development Authority, and vice president of the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Early life and education Hannon was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Early career Hannon worked as a high school history teacher and an assistant principal at Nantucket High School, prior to leaving the United States in 1964. After leaving the United States he taught in private American schools in Austria and Greece.

Chicago Public Schools Superintendency In July 1975, the Chicago Board of Education voted 7–4 to promote Hannon to the position of superintendent of Chicago Public Schools.

Later career In 1981, Hannon was named managing director and CEO of the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition Authority (MFEA) and president of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau (CCTB). Later in 1983, he was forced to resign as head of the MFEA due to increasing criticism over a $60 million cost overrun in the expansion of McCormick Place and questions about a personal loan from a bank controlled by the owner of the McCormick Center Hotel. In 1988, he was appointed head of the Export Development Authority. Following his tenure in this role, he worked as the executive vice president of the World Trade Center Chicago Association. In 1994, he was appointed to be one of the vice presidents of the Chicago Stock Exchange. In 1996, he began working as director of education and an executive vice president at Everett Securities. His wife had also worked as a teacher. Hannon died of heart failure on August 9, 2019 at his personal residence in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago.

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